mBot discovered via bluetooth, but hangs at "connecting"

#1

I’m finally getting back to trying my mBot after ~1yr of letting it sit due to various frustrations when I first tried…

This on Win 7, using mBlock 3.3.2 just downloaded today. I used USB to upgrade the firmware and restore factory settings. I can pair the mBot with the mBot android app (just discovered today), but when I try from my laptop, it just hangs at connecting for minutes and then I give up.

Is there a trick here?

My Windows bluetooth settings thingy (right bottom tray -> bluetooth icon -> show bluetooth devices) does not show anything as discovered.

As an aside, could someone clarify what you can actually do with bluetooth? I saw some other threads suggesting that programming is not possible, which would be disappointing as my primary excitement in the bluetooth ability is to let my kids try something and then re-program on the fly vs. having to watch it not do what they thought, grab it, plug it in while it tries to ride around on the table on them, and re-program with USB.

Thanks for any input.

John

#2

Hi Jwhendy,

Do you mean you can see the bluetooth signal from mBot through mBlock 3.2.2 but cannot get it connected?
Have you disconnected the USB cable while connecting the Bluetooth through mBlock?

Since you mentioned that your windows bluetooth settings doesn’t show anything as discovered, so you cannot connect this PC to bluetooth signal from other devices as well?

There are two functions for bluetooth module on mBot:

  1. you can wireless program for mbot to do online debug with the bluetooth connection between PC and mBot. If you want to upload the program to mBot, then you need connect with a USB serial cable.
  2. With the bluetooth connection between the mBot and mobile APP like mBot APP, you can remote control the mBot robot through the APP.
#3

Hi John,

What are you actually looking to do with the robot?

Hope this is not too simple:
The Arduino is programmed, via Arduino code or Scratch. For a robot tractor, this code initializes the Bluetooth and tells the motors what to do when certain signals are sent via the code. The code can do all the work, as in set it and let it go on its own, as if it is following the roadmap created in the Arduino code. Alternatively, the Arduino can be set up to look for a Bluetooth connection and receive signals that tell the Arduino which Arduino process to run (forward, back, stop, etc). You can use the smart phone app for this or write your own code in any computer language and run it on a BT capable computer. BT USB adapters run about $10-20.
If you can understand code, you can contact me for a look at some stuff I have written.
P

to set up a Bluetooth connection (or wifi) and actually control the robot. I have used Visual Basic to make the connection and then send the calls over BT to the arduino, which controls the motors, etc. I’ll make an interface program available soon.

P

#4