Theodor from electronza.com has a new tutorial with two of our clicks: BLE2 click and USB-UART click.
In this latest blog post, he teaches everyone how to configure an RN4020 module from Microchip as an Eddystone Bluetooth beacon.
The USB-UART click provides the RX, TX lines for power and the BLE2 click, that carries the RN4020 module, serves as a Bluetooth transmitter.
Bluetooth beacon
Theodor gives a detailed explanation of what a Bluetooth beacon is and what kinds of beacon technologies are currently on the market. Meanwhile, here is a short explanation before you start the tutorial:
A Bluetooth beacon is a broadcasting-only device, transmitting information to nearby smart devices. It uses BLE for the transition of data, and since all smartphones today have BLE, you don’t need a special device to receive the information.
For example, a Bluetooth beacon in a grocery store can send information to your phone about what is on sale in that section of the store. This sort of mobile commerce is only going to get more popular in the next few years.
What is Eddystone?
Eddystone is a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) beacon profile developed by Google. It is an Apache 2.0-licensed, cross-platform that got its name from the Eddystone Lighthouse in the United Kingdom.
Read the tutorial on electronza.com and learn how to make such a project yourself. Learn how to transmit an Eddystone URL frame, how to encode the URL address in ASCII and why a pair of AA alkaline batteries could run such a device for more than 5 years.
For more information on BLE2 click you can visit the product page, or the Learn article we have on BLE2 click and Bluetooth Low Energy.
Yours Sincerely,
MikroElektronika