Question

Using Bluetooth Mate http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9358 you can connect a LilyPad wirelessly to a PC or Mac with Bluetooth. I have also seen someone use their Android phone to communicate with LilyPad using Bluetooth Mate. Is there a way to make the LilyPad communicate with an iOS device. If so how do we open a serial channel with it?

Any examples or projects anyone has done would be helpful.

Answer 1

Check out this similar question: Connect an iPhone to Arduino over Bluetooth

Apparantly, in order to implement what you want, you’d have to “[j]oin the MFi licensing program to get the hardware components, tools, documentation, technical support and certification logos needed to create AirPlay audio accessories and electronic accessories that connect to iPod, iPhone, and iPad.” You can findout more about the MFi Program here.

I was looking around and found this article which interviews a Dr. Michael Kroll who claims that he found a way to transmit data from the Arduino to the iPhone without registering in the MFi Program.

Also check out this book: iOS Sensor Apps with Arduino. It covers:

• Learn how to connect the Arduino platform to any iOS device
• Build a simple application to control your Arduino directly from an iPad
• Gather measurements from an ultrasonic range finder and display them on your iPhone
• Connect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to an XBee radio network
• Explore other methods for connecting external sensors to iOS, including Ethernet and the MIDI protocol

iOS Sensor Apps with Arduino has a “parent” book called iOS Sensor Programming, which is more broad then the Arduino book. This book covers:

• Get an introduction to the hot topic of programming iPhone’s built-in sensors
• Learn how to create sensor-aware apps that respond to a user’s location
• Understand the basics of augmented reality programming
• Build apps that combine data from the accelerometer, GPS, digital compass, and camera

Anyway, I hope you found at least some of this info helpful!