“Have you delved into communication modules yet with Arduino? Bluetooth opens up a world of possibility for your Arduino projects and using the internet of things. Here we’ll start with a baby step and learn how to control addressable LEDs with a smartphone app using an HC08 Bluetooth module. Afterwards, you’ll be familiar with a smartphone app you can use to control other modules with Bluetooth.
What you’ll need for this tutorial:Hardware:
-Arduino UNO
-LED RING 16 X 5050 RGB WS2812
-Dupont wires
-Male Headers
-HC-08 Bluetooth module
Software:
-Arduino IDE
-Example code
-NeoPixel Library
-Android application to control the ring (I used Serial Bluetooth Terminal for this tutorial)
Tools:
-Soldering iron
The benefits of using BLE The HC-08 module uses BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) protocol. The main difference between Bluetooth and BLE is power consumption. Bluetooth consumes more power than BLE but can handle a lot of data. BLE is more appropriate for quickly transferring small amounts of data between nearby devices. BLE is less power-hungry, so the devices running this protocol can operate for years with a small battery; perfect for IoT!”