The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has released several updates to its developer toolkit line-up, designed to help developers build better mobile apps, low-cost beacons and IoT gateways.
“What developers can do today with Bluetooth far surpasses what they could do just a few years ago,” said Steve Hegenderfer, Director, Developer Programs, Bluetooth SIG. “Whether it’s connecting a Bluetooth device to the web, using beacons to develop unique proximity solutions, or even just learning about how all of these wireless sensors work and operate, Bluetooth delivers the powerful technology, tools, and trainings to easily prototype, test, scale, and bring to market solutions with real user benefits.”
Bluetooth is a critical cog in the IoT connectivity machine, and is used in almost every M2M system.
“As the IoT gains traction, Bluetooth has emerged as one of the market frontrunners and continues to exhibit strong growth with significant opportunities in beacons, home automation, and wearables in which lower energy consumption is critical,” said Andrew Zignani, Industry Analyst, ABI Research. “This will be further driven by upcoming Bluetooth technology advancements in energy efficiency, range, and mesh networking. Bluetooth enabled device shipments will increase by an average of half a billion per year through 2021, reaching more than five billion.”
Updates to the Bluetooth Developer Toolkit line include:
Bluetooth Secure Gateway Toolkit – This toolkit provides example components and simple initial set-up, in-depth and hands-on labs, and enhanced security components to create an Internet gateway that gives people the ability to monitor and control their Bluetooth sensors remotely.
Bluetooth Starter Kit – This training package with hands-on labs and sample source code introduces developers to Bluetooth, giving them the foundational knowledge to add the wireless connectivity to products and apps. The latest version includes updated hardware to a new Arduino that is more cost efficient, and the labs now use Bluetooth Developer Studio to help makers build their first Bluetooth device.
Application Accelerator 2.1 – This toolkit helps third-party developers build Bluetooth apps on phones, tablets, and PCs with support for Android 6.0, iOS 9, Windows 10, Tizen, and Blackberry.
Beacon Smart Starter Kit – This step-by-step kit gives instructions on how to build a beacon, leveraging the potential of these low-cost, simple yet powerful sensors.
The latest developer kits are available for download here.
Edited by
Alicia Young
