Punch Through Design, a hardware and software development firm that brings Bluetooth Low Energy hacking to the masses, has released the Windows Bean Loader, the first-ever wireless Arduino programming app for Windows users. Using the loader app, Windows-based developers and hobbyists can easily upload code to their LightBlue Bean and experience the power of Bluetooth Low Energy, without cables or a physical connection to the LightBlue Bean.
"The LightBlue Bean represents a new method of wirelessly interacting with prototypes and projects,” says Colin Karpfinger, founder and CEO, Punch Through Design. “Previously, only Mac OS X and iOS users could program their Beans, and now we are extending that functionality to Windows users.”
The full-featured app, available from the Windows Store, fills a void for Windows-based developers and DIY’ers looking to create smartphone-controlled devices. Features include:
- Wireless programming of Arduino sketches to the LightBlue Bean
- Wireless Bean firmware updates
- BLE serial communication monitor and logger
- Ability to read and log the on-board accelerometer, temperature and LED status
- Easy configuration of the Bean as an iBeacon
- Ability to protect Beans with BLE pairing pin security
- Easy access to firmware version, Arduino power state, battery level and on-board sketch name
- Developed to work well with touchscreen-enabled Windows devices including the Surface Pro
The LightBlue Bean is an Arduino-compatible board with Bluetooth Low Energy that descended from hardware heaven in May 2014. Since then, tens of thousands of the coin cell battery-powered boards have been sold to a growing community of hobbyists and professionals.
LightBlue Beans are also a favorite of professional developers that leverage the LightBlue platform to take their prototypes to production. This approach allows re-use of Bean functionality, but with a custom form factor and quantity optimized price.