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BLE is a convenient choice for wireless communication where WiFi and Internet connectivity aren't available, but getting it to work on a Raspberry Pi can be a minefield of compatibility problems. We look at the main concepts and debugging tools you will need to get the most out of BLE on your Pi.
BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) is one of several standards developed for short-range wireless communication between devices. By design, BLE consumes very little power, which makes it attractive for always-on applications that don't have continual human interaction and maintenance. As a result, it's turning up in more and more products.
BLE interaction with users is less complex than other communication technologies, because devices exchange data quickly without the usual pairing process. This makes it suitable for iBeacon applications, in which an app detects the proximity of a BLE device (e.g., I'm in a shop or at a particular stand at a conference).
Something I've noticed in building BLE prototypes and projects on the Raspberry Pi, however, is that it's a whole load harder than you'd expect. As others have found with their Rasp Pi applications, supported devices and interoperable libraries change frequently. If you're used to debugging on one machine, and you add to that debugging on several machines, with a substantial amount of the operability occurring in the air, you'll find it's not fun.
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