Send Image From Arduino to MIT App Inventor via USB OTG (Preferred) or Bluetooth

Projects General Guidance
1

Hello Arduino Community!

**I am using:
Microcontroller --> OSEPP UNO R3 PLUS (essentially the same as the UNO)
Bluetooth Module-> HC-08 Bluetooth Module
USB OTG Connector
7.1.1 Android Phone
**

Currently, I only have an Arduino sketch which basically detects whether or not the distance registered from an ultrasonic sensor (hooked to the Arduino) is below 10 centimeters. This works fine.

First of all, I want this data to be sent to an app on MIT App Inventor with live results (ex. As I move my hand next to the ultrasonic sensor, if the distance is below 10 centimeters, then it should indicate so on the app's interface (coded through MIT App Inventor).

1. Do android phones only recognize BLE devices from an Official Arduino UNO? Becuase my Android detects the HC-08, however, it is unable to connect...

2. How am I supposed to send information from the Arduino Module to the Android Phone via USB OTG (w/o Bluetooth of course)? What does the code in the Arduino Sketch look like?

Next, another major component of my project requires the transferring of images from the Arduino to the app. I have researched many different ways to transmit the images (although almost all of what I search up is live video transmission) and I have stumbled across two ways:

  • Store on an SD card connected to Arduino, take picture, store it on card, view the picture by plugging
    card into another device (LEAST PREFERRABLE)
  • A direct transmission of the image onto the device (MOST PREFERRABLE)
    There may be more methods I have yet to discover...

3. How do I send an image from the Arduino to the Android Phone? What camera should I use and what does the [Arduino] coding look like to take and send a picture to the device?

Please let me know.

Thanks for the support!

2

Do android phones only recognize BLE devices from an Official Arduino UNO? Becuase my Android detects the HC-08, however, it is unable to connect...

HC-08 (at least the modules I found) are Bluetooth 2.0 modules and not BLE. The official Arduino UNO has no bluetooth devices, so the answer to your question is no.

  1. How am I supposed to send information from the Arduino Module to the Android Phone via USB OTG (w/o Bluetooth of course)? What does the code in the Arduino Sketch look like?

Exactly the same as when connected to a PC (by USB). You must have an app on the phone that does allow to read the virtual serial device and the phone must have the corresponding USB driver. I never tried that myself so I cannot tell you if this might work. Theoretically it's possible as Android phones are based on a Linux kernel and the Linux kernel has support for all Arduino USB serial profiles.

  1. How do I send an image from the Arduino to the Android Phone? What camera should I use and what does the [Arduino] coding look like to take and send a picture to the device?

Arduino is the wrong choice if the device has to handle images. Use a more powerful platform with much more RAM for this purpose.