Do something if communications lost with HC-05 Bluetooth

Using Arduino Project Guidance
#1

I have a project to control an RC boat via Bluetooth. Everything is working fine using the code below but I would like something in there to stop the motors if communications between the arduino and the tablet are lost.

#include <SoftwareSerial.h>

SoftwareSerial mySerial(8,9); // RX, TX
char data = 0;            //Variable for storing received data
const int lm1=7;
const int lm2=6;
const int rm1=5;
const int rm2=4;

void setup()                        // run once, when the sketch starts
{
  Serial.begin(9600);               // set up Serial library at 9600 bps
  mySerial.begin(9600);             // Set the data rate for the SoftwareSerial port
  Serial.println("PC Comms Up");    // prints to serial port to confirm communications are up. 
  pinMode(lm1,OUTPUT);
  pinMode(lm2,OUTPUT);
  pinMode(rm1,OUTPUT);
  pinMode(rm2,OUTPUT);
}

void loop()                       // run over and over again
{
if(mySerial.available() > 0)      // Send data only when you receive data:
   {
      data = mySerial.read();        //Read the incoming data & store into data
      Serial.println(data);          //Print Value inside data in Serial monitor
        
      if(data=='F'){
           front();   
      }else if(data=='B'){
          back();
      }else if(data=='L'){
         left();
      }else if(data=='R'){
        right();
      }else if(data=='S'){
        Break();
      }
      
   }

}


void front(){
  Serial.println("Forward Move");
  digitalWrite(lm1,HIGH);   
  digitalWrite(lm2,LOW);    
  digitalWrite(rm1,HIGH);   
  digitalWrite(rm2,LOW);    
}
void back(){
  Serial.println("Back Move");
  digitalWrite(lm1,LOW);     
  digitalWrite(lm2,HIGH);    
  digitalWrite(rm1,LOW);     
  digitalWrite(rm2,HIGH);    
}
void left(){
  Serial.println("Left Move");
  digitalWrite(lm1,LOW);       
  digitalWrite(lm2,HIGH);      
  digitalWrite(rm1,HIGH);      
  digitalWrite(rm2,LOW);       
  
}
void right(){
  Serial.println("Right Move");
  digitalWrite(lm2,LOW);       
  digitalWrite(lm1,HIGH);      
  digitalWrite(rm2,HIGH);      
  digitalWrite(rm1,LOW);       
}
void Break(){
  
  Serial.println("Break"); 
  digitalWrite(lm2,LOW);     
  digitalWrite(lm1,LOW);
  digitalWrite(rm1,LOW);
  digitalWrite(rm2,LOW);
}

I tried adding else Break(); just before the } preceding the void Front and it causes the motors to just spin for a second and then stop.

#2

Is this what you tried?

if(mySerial.available() > 0)
{
  ...
  ...
}
else
{
  Break();
}

If so, you will need to implement
1)
Some kind of keep-alive message to be sent from the tablet, e.g every second. E.g. send a 'K'.
2)
Implement a timeout at the receiver side. Every time you receive a command, you keep track of the millis() in a variable. If a command was not received for e.g. 5 seconds, stop the motors.

#3

For my remote control projects (model trains) I send a message regularly (between 5 and 10 per second) even if the data has not changed. The receiver knows the interval between messages and if it misses (say) 10 messages in a row it stops the locomotive.

...R

#4

sterretje:
Is this what you tried?

if(mySerial.available() > 0)

{
  ...
  ...
}
else
{
  Break();
}



If so, you will need to implement
1)
Some kind of keep-alive message to be sent from the tablet, e.g every second. E.g. send a 'K'.
2)
Implement a timeout at the receiver side. Every time you receive a command, you keep track of the millis() in a variable. If a command was not received for e.g. 5 seconds, stop the motors.

After reading your comment I realized that the remote control app on the tablet only sends a single character when you push a direction button not a continuous stream. Will have to look at configuration of the app and see if that can be changed.

#5