I need to communicate between a hacked android device and an Arduino primarily sending signals to turn on lights. No voice data. I was under the impression that Bluetooth is the best solution but someone has suggested an Arduino GSM shield ad being easier and more reliable to implement. Is this the case?
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closed as primarily opinion-based by Nick Alexeev♦, Joe Hass, Matt Young, PeterJ, Chetan Bhargava Dec 16 '13 at 1:41
Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
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Bluetooth will be your best option unless you need to comminicate over long distances. Bluetooth is proven and reliable on these devices. |
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A GSM shield will allow you to connect the Arduino to a mobile network. Then you could potentially send SMS messages from your phone to the Arduino, which could be processed. Advantange is arduino can be placed anywhere there is phone reception. Disadvantage is that you will have to buy a SIM and get a mobile phone plane. Bluetooth is a device to device protocol. With bluetooth the android device connects directly to the Arduino. There are a few bluetooth low energy shields out there for this. Bluetooth low energy consumes less power and is easier to implement. The shields have example code, and some have example code for the Android (or iOS) device. E.g. BLE Shield Advantage is simple and quick to get running with the example code. Disadvantage is you have to be within 10m - 100m for the bluetooth to connect (depends on antenna). Another option is WiFi. If the Arduino is to be located in a place with WiFi (or Ethernet) access then a WiFi shield will allow connection to the internet. Using an "Internet of Things" (IoT) service like Xively you can both communicate with the Arduino and get it to send data to the internet. You can write a web page or an app to send the appropriate message to your Arduino (e.g. light on / off) via Xively. Xively has code and tutorials for Arduino with WiFi shield. Advantage is being able to connect to the Arduino where ever there is available WiFi. Disadvantage is the extra layer of setup using an IoT service brings. I think the most useful approach in terms of learning something new, is to go with WiFi / Xively. I set up some sensors on solar power Arduinos, which communicated with Xively via an XBee link to a raspberry pi with ethernet. It was great to see the data update in real time. You can even embed the real time graphs in webpages. If you want kind of a fancy home remote control, then bluetooth should be quick to get running. |
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