I have an arduino-based tracker in my car that works great, and for security I have it set to send me a text message when the ignition is turned on. This then sounds an alarm on my phone. I have it set to work between certain hours so it doesn't get too annoying, but it does still sometimes go off when it shouldn't.
So I was wondering if I could use a bluetooth module to detect the presence of my iphone and then silence the ignition alarm if it's present.
I've been looking at bluetooth modules on amazon and there are plenty but I'm not really sure what I need. I don't want any pairing to occur as that's overcomplicated, I just want something that can scan the nearby airwaves and return a list of bluetooth device IDs.
The issue with most of the BT modules for Arduino is that they don’t have full BT commands. I’ve been doing research in the area and it can be done but at some point you can just go with one chip to do it all. They are building SoC like the nRF 52 that has cortex chips onboard which are Arduino IDE compatible. That’s about as far as I got for now.
m4rkw:
So I was wondering if I could use a bluetooth module to detect the presence of my iphone and then silence the ignition alarm if it's present.
I've been looking at bluetooth modules on amazon and there are plenty but I'm not really sure what I need. I don't want any pairing to occur as that's overcomplicated, I just want something that can scan the nearby airwaves and return a list of bluetooth device IDs.
I'm not sure how good an idea this is, and your demand about pairing is absurd, but I imagine that it can be done with an HM-10 or similar BLE module. It would seem that the only problem is that you would need to then deactivate the tracker, or at least this bit of it, until the ignition is turned off and back on again. Otherwise your phone might not be able to connect to your radio.
As far as I know your phone can be detected by the other bluetooth module in two ways:
when your phone is discoverable. You normally have to enable this manually, after which you will remain discoverable for a few minutes. Doesn't sound like a useful method to me.
when your phone is paired with the other device. If pairing two devices, which normally done once only and takes a few button presses is too complicated for you, you better forget about actually programming an Arduino.
In the second case your device can try to communicate with your phone, and when the phone is in range it can be detected that way.
m4rkw:
Is there a better alternative? How do modern keyless enter car keys work?Is that radio tech available for arduino?
Probably some form of NFC, which itself is available for Arduinos. A keyless entry is not really keyless as you must be carrying a key with you for it to work. It's just a key that doesn't look like a traditional key.
wvmarle:
If pairing two devices, which normally done once only and takes a few button presses is too complicated for you, you better forget about actually programming an Arduino.
It's not that it's complicated, it just isn't very robust - eg if what happens if someone pairs some other device with the bluetooth module, it then won't connect and the system is broken. And I already wrote the software for the tracker board so I'm fine with programming.
wvmarle:
Probably some form of NFC, which itself is available for Arduinos. A keyless entry is not really keyless as you must be carrying a key with you for it to work. It's just a key that doesn't look like a traditional key.
Yeah I know about the keys. But it works if the key is in your pocket, which is basically what I want. Some kind of dongle on my keychain that can be detected by the tracker board would be ideal.