Sarah Marsh / Mbed OS EddystoneBeacon

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readme.md@0:1c7da5f83647, 2016-11-29 (annotated)

Committer:
sarahmarshy
Date:
Tue Nov 29 06:29:10 2016 +0000
Revision:
0:1c7da5f83647
Initial commit

Who changed what in which revision?

UserRevisionLine numberNew contents of line
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 1 Eddystone beacons broadcast a small amount of information, like URLs, to nearby BLE devices.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 2
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 3 The Eddystone Beacon sample application runs in two stages:
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 4
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 5 1. On startup, the Configuration Service (which allows [modification of the beacon](https://github.com/google/eddystone/blob/master/eddystone-url/docs/config-service-spec.md)) runs for a user-defined period (default - 30 seconds).
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 6
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 7 1. When the Configuration Service period ends, the Eddystone Service broadcasts advertisement packets.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 8
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 9
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 10
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 11 # Running the application
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 12
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 13 ## Requirements
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 14
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 15 You should install the *Physical Web* application on your phone:
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 16
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 17 - [Android version](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=physical_web.org.physicalweb)
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 18
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 19 - [iOS version](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/physical-web/id927653608?mt=8)
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 20
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 21
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 22 **Note:** It is also possible to use a regular scanner to interract with your Eddystone beacon but it requires
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 23 knowledge about BLE and Eddystone beacon specification out of the scope of this document.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 24
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 25
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 26 Hardware requirements are in the [main readme](https://github.com/ARMmbed/ble-examples/blob/master/README.md).
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 27
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 28 ## Building instructions
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 29
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 30 Building instructions for all samples are in the [main readme](https://github.com/ARMmbed/ble-examples/blob/master/README.md).
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 31
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 32 ### Working with nRF51-based 16K targets
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 33
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 34 Because of memory constraints, you can't use the SoftDevice 130 (S130) to build for nRF51-based 16K targets. If you are using these targets, then before building:
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 35
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 36 1. Open the ``config.json`` file in this sample.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 37 1. Change ``soft device`` to ``S110``.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 38 1. Save.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 39
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 40 You can now build for nRF51-based 16K targets.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 41
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 42 ## Setting up the beacon
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 43
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 44 By default, the beacon directs to the url ``http://mbed.org``. You can change this to your own URL in two ways:
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 45
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 46 1. Manually edit the code in ``main.cpp`` in your copy of the sample.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 47
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 48 1. Build and run the application's default code as explained in the building instructions. When the beacon starts up, the Configuration Service runs for 30 seconds (this is the default value; you can change it in ``main.cpp``). While the Configuration Service runs, you can use a BLE scanner on your phone to edit the values the service presents.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 49
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 50 ## Checking for success
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 51
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 52 1. Build the application and install it on your board as explained in the building instructions.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 53
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 54 1. Open the *Physical Web* application on your phone. It will start to search for nearby beacons.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 55
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 56 ![](img/app_start.png)
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 57
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 58 **figure 1** Start of the *Physical Web* application version 0.1.856 on Android
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 59
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 60 1. When the beacon starts up, the Configuration Service runs for 30 seconds.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 61 During this time it is possible to change the URL advertised by the beacon.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 62 It is also important to note that during these 30 seconds, your device will not advertise any URL.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 63
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 64 ![](img/open_configuration.png)
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 65
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 66 **figure 2** How to open the beacon configuration view using the *Physical Web* application version 0.1.856 on Android
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 67
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 68
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 69 1. Edit the URL advertised by your beacon.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 70
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 71 ![](img/edit_url.png)
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 72
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 73 **figure 3** How to edit the URL advertised by your beacon using the *Physical Web* application version 0.1.856 on Android
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 74
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 75
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 76 1. Save the URL which will be advertised by your beacon.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 77
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 78 ![](img/save_url.png)
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 79
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 80 **figure 4** How to save your beacon configuration and start advertising URL using the *Physical Web* application version 0.1.856 on Android.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 81
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 82
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 83 1. Find your device; it should advertise the URL you have set.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 84
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 85 ![](img/result.png)
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 86
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 87 **figure 5** Display of URL advertised by your beacon using the *Physical Web* application version 0.1.856 on Android.
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 88
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 89
sarahmarshy 0:1c7da5f83647 90 **Note:** You can use the [Eddystone Observer](https://github.com/ARMmbed/ble-examples/tree/master/BLE_EddystoneObserver) sample instead of a phone application.