Adafruit Using the Bluefruit Dashboard User Manual

Using the Bluefruit Dashboard with Web Bluetooth in Chrome

Created by Melissa LeBlanc-Williams

Last updated on 2021-01-13 02:02:26 PM EST

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Guide Contents

Guide Contents Overview

Parts

Installing Firmware

Download the Firmware Installing the Firmware Getting the Source Code

CircuitPython Install CircuitPython and Libraries

Install CircuitPython on Circuit Playground Bluefruit Install CircuitPython on CLUE Install CircuitPython on Feather Bluefruit Sense

Install Libraries

Libraries for Circuit Playground Bluefruit Libraries for CLUE and Feather Bluefruit Sense

Add code.py

Circuit Playground Bluefruit code.py CLUE code.py Feather Bluefruit Sense code.py

Preparing Chrome Using the Dashboard

Connecting Types of Panels

Text Panels Graph Panels Color Panels 3D Panels Custom Panels

Available Panels

Battery Temperature Light Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Buttons Switch Humidity Barometric Pressure Tone NeoPixel 3D Model

The Log Dark Mode

Taking it Further

Adding new boards Adding new panels Making it better

Overview

Bluetooth LE (BLE) is a common way for mobile devices to connect to accessories, watches, and toys. Getting that same connectivity on the desktop has been really challenging - every platform does it differently and it's still not very stable. Luckily, there's now a cross-platform way to connect to BLE devices on any computer - Web Bluetooth lets you connect to BLE devices, right from your browser!

In this guide we'll show how you can test BLE devices from Adafruit in the browser, streaming in sensor data, even controlling LEDs and buzzers using the Adafruit Bluefruit Dashboard page.

It works by making a Bluetooth connection to a device, then it queries which services are available and creates interactivity panels in the dashboard for those services. The more services, the more panels. So the Circuit Playground Bluefruit will look different than the Adafruit CLUE because the CLUE has more sensors. The dashboard will then receive notifications from the Bluetooth device and update the data on screen at regular intervals.

This guide will go over:

Installing the firmware Preparing Chrome if you have Linux Connecting to the dashboard and using it, and Discuss taking the dashboard further

To get started, all you will need are a Bluetooth board with sensors such as the Circuit Playground Bluefruit, Adafruit CLUE or Feather Bluefruit Sense.

Parts

Your browser does not support the video tag. Adafruit CLUE - nRF52840 Express with Bluetooth LE

Do you feel like you just don't have a CLUE? Well, we can help with that - get a CLUE here at Adafruit by picking up this sensor-packed development board. We wanted to build some... $39.95 In Stock

Circuit Playground Bluefruit - Bluetooth Low Energy

Circuit Playground Bluefruit is our third board in the Circuit Playground series, another step towards a perfect introduction to electronics and programming. We've... $24.95 In Stock

Add to Cart

Adafruit Feather nRF52840 Sense

The Adafruit Feather Bluefruit Sense takes our popular Feather nRF52840 Express and adds a smorgasbord of sensors... $32.50 In Stock

Add to Cart

USB cable - USB A to Micro-B

This here is your standard A to micro-B USB cable, for USB 1.1 or 2.0. Perfect for connecting a PC to your Metro, Feather, Raspberry Pi or other dev-board or... $2.95 In Stock

Add to Cart

Installing Firmware

The firmware that runs on your Bluetooth board is the same firmware that is used with Bluefruit Playground. You may wish to download the latest version below. There have been some recent additions such as a quaternion service which allows you see a model that is rotated in real time by the orientation of your board.

Download the Firmware

The first step is to download the firmware that is appropriate for your board:

https://adafru.it/Jtb

https://adafru.it/Jtc

https://adafru.it/Jtd

Installing the Firmware

The file you downloaded is in the UF2 format, which makes installation very easy. The procedure to install it is as follows:

1. Connect a USB cable and put the power switch in the “on” position

2. Double-tap the reset button

3. Wait for the boot drive to appear! This will appear as a disk drive with BOOT in the name

4. Drag the UF2 file to the boot drive and wait for it to copy over

5. The board will automatically reboot

Getting the Source Code

If you would like to find the source code, you will first need to install the nRF52 Board Support Package. For more information, you can follow the Arduino Support Setup page in our Introducing Adafruit CLUE

guide (https://adafru.it/Ka6).

https://adafru.it/Jtb

https://adafru.it/Jtc

https://adafru.it/Jtd

Once you have the package installed, select the appropriate board.

Open the example available at file→examples→Adafruit

Bluefruit nRF52 Libraries→Peripheral→bluefruit_playground

CircuitPython

You can also use the Bluefruit Playground app and the Bluefruit Bluetooth Web Dashboard with CircuitPython. There are CircuitPython programs that do the same thing as the Arduino UF2s listed in this Guide.

Install CircuitPython and Libraries

You'll need to install a version of CircuitPython and a number of libraries specific to your board.

 You need CircuitPython 6.0.0 or later. Version 5.3.1 will raise errors.

Install CircuitPython on Circuit Playground Bluefruit

Download the latest version of CircuitPython from the link below. If you need detailed help, follow these

instructions (https://adafru.it/GA4).

https://adafru.it/FNK

Install CircuitPython on CLUE

Download the latest version of CircuitPython for CLUE from the link below. If you need detailed help, follow these

instructions (https://adafru.it/Jab).

https://adafru.it/IHF

https://adafru.it/FNK

https://adafru.it/IHF

Adafruit Using the Bluefruit Dashboard User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual