New Bluetooth product: Simblee
T Chap
Posts: 4,198
I was looking for a product to allow an iphone to trigger a Propeller device when the phone got within a certain distance, acting as a proximity sensor. I called RF Digital and they said they had a product coming out soon that would help called the Simblee. The first batch of pre release orders went out this week and I have a few hours into testing it. I bought the starter kit, which is the RFDuino Simblee module, the Arduino USB programming module, and a 2 button 1 LED test module. It works like this. You download an app from iPhone for Simblee that is a generic test bed. You open the Arduino IDE and send the Simblee module connected via USB a program(using example code for now). Once the code is on the Simblee device, the iPhone immediately sees the device and you can click the app to connected to the device, which is very fast. You can then send data bi directionally between the phone and the module. The interesting thing is, the iPhone screen UI contents are being generated on the Simblee code in the Arduino IDE, and sent to the iPhone upon connect, you do not create apps separately for the phone in another platform. You can add images, drag bars, buttons sliders, multiple screens, etc. I have only scratched the surface, but I thought this would be something you guys should check out. Seems like a very nifty way to interact with iPhone and Android with minimal investment.
Promo videos that show examples working on the phone:
Promo videos that show examples working on the phone:
Comments
Guess I should Google it LOL
Three years ago, I replaced my PC-based HMI's on my control systems with tablets, linked via BT.
I have a slab of aluminum, CNC machined to house/protect the tablet and fit rugged panel-mount USB connectors so the only contact that the user has with the tablet is the actual touch-screen.
So often, a piece of production equipment holds-up an entire line due to a HMI failure so my COTS tablet alternative has been very well received.
I see Simblee as my next step.
Very cool, however I hate these overly long self-congratulatory type of informercials.
Cool, lets see the pricing and some more details.
Others are cheaper already.
Still, the idea of an app that has enough user-interface within the module, skipping installs, is certainly nifty.
Fast connect and good time precision are also nice, but they only mention a vague 10us on timing.
For some that may not understand the concept, you create the iphone or Android app (appearance and buttons) in the Simblee using the Arduino IDE. The screen interface(images, buttons, sliders etc) are transferred from the Simblee to the iPhone on the first connect, so you do not have to write an app for the phone as a separate process.
My lil lady is not your biggest fan right now
I gave her the example of being able to walk in to a shoe store, finding a particular pair of shoes that she fancied, clicking on her smartphone to see if her size was in stock and subsequently requesting a pair to try-on.
The applications are endless.
Budding entrepreneurs need to be all over this thing.
This app uses a couple of generic pushbuttons and a password entry from the examples. The reaction time to the button press on the phone is very fast.
What dynamic range does that have ? (ie does it saturate at very close or very far cases)
Sounds like a nifty way to have hidden superset modes.
Does this technology make it easier to use your own apps with an iPhone?
Nevermind, I see you already answered the second question.
Thanks for letting us know about this. I'll need to get a few to try.
+1 on that!
They made me wish I didn't want to try the product.
In hindsight was starter kit a good idea?
I'd like to try these out and I'm trying to figure out which device(s) to purchase. I found the starter kit on Digikey but I'm wondering if there's a better kit/set to purchase.
I was meaning dynamic range or saturation of the ISSI signal ?
I have no experience with Bluetooth beyond this first effort. My opinion is that this is something extremely cool for interfacing phones to Bluetooth with minimal effort and experience.
https://www.simblee.com/Simblee RFD77101 Preliminary Datasheet v0.12.pdf
Maybe the datasheet has info? I didn't see anything in it specifically about Dyn Range or satur.
const unsigned char SimbleeLogo_Transparent_png[] = {
0x89, 0x50, 0x4e, 0x47, 0x0d, 0x0a, 0x1a, 0x0a, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x0d,
unsigned int SimbleeLogo_Transparent_png_len = 17328;
I hope you know I wasn't blaming you for the video (unless you're the one who produced it).
I just ordered the Starter Kit and one extra smt module.
I've played around with MIT's App Inventor 2. It's pretty easy to use compared with Android Studio but it's also very cumbersome. Hopefully these little Simblee modules will be easier to use than AI2.
I haven't tried writing an iOS app. Hopefully these modules will make it possible to have some gizmo interact with an iOS device.
I've recently been becoming more acquainted with the Arduino. Programming on an Arduino is kind of like programming a Propeller with seven cogs tied behind its back.
Thanks again for the information about these modules.
Hey, just curious since IoT is the current buzzword as is Security.
I haven't looked much further than the video's, however before I really think about guying one, is/how is security imagined for this device?
For home testing, yeah no one else is likely to have one of these running anywhere nearby.
But next year suppose its up and running in your local shoe store.
How do you know you are connecting to who you think you are?
What if Joe Hacker has one of these in his trenchcoat pocket inside the store, and is broadcasting his Android 0Day enabled Dick's Shoes simblee?
What sort of permissions does the Simblee app on your phone need?
Just a couple of questions rambling in the brain here, although for some neat home automation I expect the BT encryption would suffice.
As for security, I have not looked too deep at it, but these guys have gone to great lengths on this so I would assume it has been addressed but at first glance in the first set of documents there is no mention of any encrption running. You can hard code a password into the Simblee and when your phone sees a new device in range, you click on the device name in a list of found devices. If a password is required, you type it and then the app shows up on the screen.
You download the Simblee app from the app store, which is the generic empty app that allows the Simblee to send it data. Once you have connected to a Simblee, the Simblee sends over the actual data that will appear on the app screen for that particular app that is loaded on the Simblee device. You can give the device a name so that the device will appear in your phone as a found device. You must click on the device in the phone to connect to it, so you cannot accidentally connect to a found device. Once connected, there is a lock icon, click on the lock and then the device will auto-connect in the future when the device is within range. To autoconnect, you must go to Settings>Simblee and select Background On. This allows the app to connect to the Simblee when in range, even if the app is not appearing on the screen. This is useful in an example of proximity controlling a device like a garage door, alarm, etc.
BTW, there is no way to know who created the device that was found, whether it was the Shoe Store or a hacker. However, the shoe store could easily display that their device is called "Joe's Shoes", and if you find two devices of the same name you can assume one is real and one is not.
/* The sketch demonstrates how to do use the 128-bit AES CCM Encryption and Decryption. */ /* * Copyright (c) 2015 RF Digital Corp. All Rights Reserved. * * The source code contained in this file and all intellectual property embodied in * or covering the source code is the property of RF Digital Corp. or its licensors. * Your right to use this source code and intellectual property is non-transferable, * non-sub licensable, revocable, and subject to terms and conditions of the * SIMBLEE SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT. * http://www.simblee.com/licenses/SimbleeSoftwareLicenseAgreement.txt * * THE SOURCE CODE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. * * This heading must NOT be removed from this file. */ #include <SimbleeRNG.h> #include <SimbleeAES.h> // private encryption key (generated by the SimbleeRNG generate sketch) uint8_t key[16] = { 0xc2, 0x20, 0x47, 0xeb, 0x3b, 0xd5, 0x22, 0x71, 0x10, 0x45, 0xb5, 0x13, 0x13, 0x33, 0x74, 0x61 }; // private initialization vector (generated by the SimbleeRNG generate sketch) uint8_t iv[8] = { 0x7a, 0x91, 0x90, 0xfb, 0xaa, 0xc0, 0x27, 0x0c }; // packet counter (CTR mode combines the IV and pktctr into the full 128-bit nonce) uint32_t pktctr; // NOTE: the nonce should never be used more than once for a given key or the security can be compromised. uint8_t msg_in[12 + 1] = "Hello World!"; uint8_t encrypted[12 + 1 + 4]; uint8_t msg_out[12 + 1]; void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); // pick a random pktctr (or use a sequential counter and flash memory to pickup where we left off) SimbleeRNG::generate((uint8_t*)&pktctr, sizeof(pktctr)); // length includes the end-of-string NULL byte // (we don't technically need it, but it makes it easier to display the decrypted string later) printf("string (length %d): %s\n", sizeof(msg_in), msg_in); uint8_t encrypted_len = SimbleeAES::encrypt(key, iv, pktctr, msg_in, sizeof(msg_in), encrypted); printf("encrypted stream (length %d): ", encrypted_len); for (int i = 0; i < encrypted_len; i++) printf("%x ", encrypted[i]); printf("\n"); uint8_t msg_out_len = SimbleeAES::decrypt(key, iv, pktctr, encrypted, encrypted_len, msg_out); printf("decrypted string (length %d): %s\n", msg_out_len, msg_out); } void loop() { }Bean
Right.
I figured as much. I'm working on a project where we just added Bluetooth with a HC-05 module. I think the Bluetooth is working well but my app design skills are very limited. I figured we get someone else to write an iOS app but if we can use these little Simblee gizmos to send an app then that might be enough to keep the people using our sensor happy.
I hope the Android app get finished soon or I'll need to track down someone with an iPhone to try out any app I write. I'll probably look into purchasing an iPhone with BLE.
siderant: still struggling at trying to understand why so many things come out "ready" for the iPhone, when iPhones represent less than 15% of smartphones on the market, yet Android based phones represent >82%. (as of August '15 per Gartner)
Funny. And true.
Also, 90% of the fun and 95% of the flexibility have been drained away. It is surprising to me what has been achieved given the relatively restrictive environment.