Intel® XDK IoT Node.js* BLE iBeacon App

See LICENSE.md for license terms and conditions.

This sample application is distributed as part of the Intel® XDK. It can also be downloaded or cloned directly from its git repo on the public Intel XDK GitHub* site.

For help getting started developing applications with the Intel XDK, please start with the Intel XDK documentation.

See also, the mraa library documentation for details regarding supported boards and the mraa library API and the upm library documentation for information regarding the upm sensor and actuator library APIs.

App Overview

A simple nodeJS project that uses the bleno node module so your IoT device can advertise its presence as a beacon over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).

Intel(R) Edison

You must enable bluetooth and disable the bluetooth daemon on your device.

Intel(R) Galileo

This IoT device requires use of a compatible BLE product, such as the Grove - BLE and also requires that you disable the bluetooth daemon.

###Intel(R) Edison & Intel(R) Galileo

####First time - Enabling BLE

Within a SSH or Serial Terminal connection, type the following commands,

rfkill unblock bluetooth
hciconfig hci0 up

vi /etc/opkg/base-feeds.conf (insert only following lines)
src/gz all http://repo.opkg.net/edison/repo/all
src/gz edison http://repo.opkg.net/edison/repo/edison
src/gz core2-32 http://repo.opkg.net/edison/repo/core2-32

For more information on the vi editor, visit http://www.cs.colostate.edu/helpdocs/vi.html

opkg update
opkg install bluez5-dev

Note: If bluez fails to install this version, still proceed with remainding steps.

Prerequisite for Bleno - node package to work successfully

Note: The following steps will need to be executed every time the board is restarted. Within a SSH or Serial Terminal connection, type the following commands,

rfkill unblock bluetooth
killall bluetoothd (or, more permanently) systemctl disable bluetooth
hciconfig hci0 up

You should now be able to use BLE in your project.

(Intel XDK IoT Edition) Install node modules

Within the "manage your xdk daemon and IoT device" menu, check the following boxes

• Clean '/node_modules' before building
• Run npm install directly on IoT Device (requires internet connection on device)

You can installed the required node modules for this project which are found in the package.json file by pressing the Build/Install button.

(Intel XDK IoT Edition) Upload & Run project

After installing the neccessary node modules, press the upload and run buttons to execute your project on your board.

Getting Started with Bleno NodeJS Plug-in

Design Considerations

The key information needed for identifying and configuring your development board as a BLE iBeacon:

//iBeacon info
var uuid  = 'e2c56db5dffb48d2b060d0f5a71096e0';
var major = 0;
var minor = 0;
var measuredPower = -59;

The first operation is to set up an eventlistener for the "stateChange" event. Within this function block, it is recommended to startAdvertising your service only when the state is in powerOn.

bleno.on('stateChange', function(state) {
    console.log('on -> stateChange: ' + state);

    if (state === 'poweredOn') {
        bleno.startAdvertisingIBeacon(
            uuid, major, minor, measuredPower);
    }
    else if (state === 'unsupported') {
        console.log(
            "Please review the README.md for steps to enable the required configurations."
        );
    }
    else {
        bleno.stopAdvertising();
    }
});

The second operation is to set up an eventlistener for the "advertisingStart" event.

bleno.on('advertisingStart', function() {
    console.log('on -> advertisingStart');
});

The third operation is to set up an eventlistener for the "advertisingStop" event.

bleno.on('advertisingStop', function() {
    console.log('on -> advertisingStop');
});

Testing/Validation

In order to test this application, I recommend downloading the following mobile application that will allow you to view your nearby development board (ibeacon) as well as other BLE ibeacon devices:

1. Locate Beacon - Finds any nearby beacon with real-time distance estimates a. iOS App b. Android App

Important App Files

• main.js
• package.json

Important Project Files

• README.md
• LICENSE.md
• <project-name>.xdk

Tested IoT Node.js Platforms

• Intel® Galileo Board
• Intel® Edison Development Platform

This sample can run on other IoT Node.js development platforms, that include the appropriate sensor hardware, but may require changes to the I/O initialization and configuration code in order to work on those other platforms.