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New Functionality: Bluetooth for Raspberry Pi Pico W

151 points by crispinh 3y ago

spdustin 3y ago
With ESPHome now supported on Picos (and other RP2040-based boards) this is an exciting time to be a home automation geek.
roywashere 3y ago
This is the PR where the work is being merged into ‘upstream’ micropython for those who are interested. I have been following this side February. Very interesting to see https://github.com/micropython/micropython/pull/10739 https://github.com/micropython/micropython/pull/10739
- roywashere 3y ago
  It now has been merged! Nice
noodlesUK 3y ago
This is great! I think the rp2040 is moving towards being a very universal (and capable) platform for tinkerers who might have once reached for an Atmel based Arduino or an ESP32.
- ravetcofx 3y ago
  What are the benefits vs an esp32?
  - jki275 3y ago
    I think the PIO capability is something the ESP32s don't have. Other than that, I think the ESP32 is superior in basically every way.
deleted 3y ago
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deleted 3y ago
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flangola7 3y ago
I did not know it has a Bluetooth chip
- lesuorac 3y ago
  Isn't BlueTooth the same spectrum as WiFi so if your chip can do WiFi it should be able to do BlueTooth?
  - martin8412 3y ago
    Your microwave oven is around the same spectrum(2.45GHz). Doesn't mean that it will be able to transmit WiFi or Bluetooth, but it might interfere with both.
  - rcarmo 3y ago
    Different Media Access Control and framing. They're only borderline related, even in terms of radio channel definitions (they overlap in the 2.4GHz frequency range, but are incompatible).
  - adql 3y ago
    Technically, if it is just "a fancy SDR" and not some hardware dedicated just for WiFi
- Daneel_ 3y ago
  It shipped with the hardware, albeit unused. They always intended to go back and add Bluetooth support, so it’s nice it’s here now.
- pastage 3y ago
  The W model has Bluetooth, the plain version RP Pico 2040 version does not. BT has always been possible to use but under a non commercial license.
devmor 3y ago
Extremely awesome. I have a lot of Pico W projects that send very minimal wifi data and could benefit from the reduced power consumption of BT.
dabluecaboose 3y ago
Somehow I missed the release of the pico. Has anyone played with one? What's it like to tinker with compared to a pi zero or a full sized pi?
- HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
  Completely different device for a different set of use cases.
  - Daneel_ 3y ago
    Precisely. It’s best to think of it as a dedicated and customisable IoT device. I put one in my coffee machine, for example, so that I can turn it on/off remotely or on a schedule, as well as read the grinder value much more precisely (5V potentiometer) than the number the machine provides (1-45).
    - dabluecaboose 3y ago
      Wow, that's a super cool use case! I'm super interested in "smart-ifying" things by being able to measure them/read state remotely as opposed to controlling them. This sounds like it might be really useful for that!
      - Daneel_ 3y ago
        Absolutely. It has 4x 10-bit ADCs built in, so precise measurement is quite easy. I used a voltage divider to change the range from 5V to 3.3V. As mentioned in other comments, the Pico has two cores, so I’m actually running the small web server (for phone GUI) in a thread directly on the second core, meaning there’s never a time where I’m running code that could block web service. The grinder value gets updated 10x per second on the webpage via ajax, so it feels really responsive on your phone but doesn’t have to reload the page. I want to add a little oled to the coffee machine to show the output directly too. It’s a great little device. I’ll be open sourcing the code in the future on GitHub once I’ve worked a few more issues out (my handle is CodeByMiles).
Cieric 3y ago
There are already some cool projects using the PicoW bluetooth, I'm currently modifying https://github.com/DavidPagels/retro-pico-switch https://github.com/DavidPagels/retro-pico-switch to try and make a custom controller from scratch. Hopefully it'll get far enough to push to github at some point.
- stavros 3y ago
  This is really cool, I love the stuff that becomes possible with BLE support.
Tepix 3y ago
The RP2040 is very popular with Nintendo Switch modchips these days. I wonder Bluetooth makes these chips even better for the purpose (OTA updates?).
yardie 3y ago
Oh great! I just received a batch of Pico Ws and felt there may be BT functionality under the shield. Broadcom has incorporated into all their wifi chips even if it's not used/not connected.
- tssva 3y ago
  The blog post accompanying the release of the Pico W gave the part number of the Infineon wireless chip used by the Pico W, acknowledged the Bluetooth capability of the chip and stated it might be enabled in the future. I'm at a bit of a loss to your reference to Broadcom chips since the Pico W doesn't utilize Broadcom chips.
gadgetoid 3y ago
It’s been possible to use Bluetooth for a while, but a bug prevented Bluetooth and Wifi from running stably at the same time. I threw together a Bluetooth speaker firmware - for some of our (Pimoroni) boards - with FFT visualisation quite some months ago - https://github.com/Gadgetoid/galactic-bluetooth-audio https://github.com/Gadgetoid/galactic-bluetooth-audio Album art display is also possible but small matrix displays don’t lend themselves well to it - https://github.com/Gadgetoid/galactic-bluetooth-audio/pull/13 https://github.com/Gadgetoid/galactic-bluetooth-audio/pull/1...
- andrewstuart 3y ago
  Maybe try an hdmi output https://www.adafruit.com/product/5710 https://www.adafruit.com/product/5710
  - gadgetoid 3y ago
    Already on it- see the PR!
- matt_trentini 3y ago
  As well as the BLE/WiFi issue, there was another defect that prevented some devices from connecting to the Pico W over BLE reliably. Both have been resolved with this release.

151 points by crispinh 3y ago

With ESPHome now supported on Picos (and other RP2040-based boards) this is an exciting time to be a home automation geek.

roywashere 3y ago

This is the PR where the work is being merged into ‘upstream’ micropython for those who are interested. I have been following this side February. Very interesting to see https://github.com/micropython/micropython/pull/10739 https://github.com/micropython/micropython/pull/10739

roywashere 3y ago
It now has been merged! Nice

noodlesUK 3y ago

This is great! I think the rp2040 is moving towards being a very universal (and capable) platform for tinkerers who might have once reached for an Atmel based Arduino or an ESP32.

ravetcofx 3y ago
What are the benefits vs an esp32?
- jki275 3y ago
  I think the PIO capability is something the ESP32s don't have. Other than that, I think the ESP32 is superior in basically every way.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

flangola7 3y ago

I did not know it has a Bluetooth chip

lesuorac 3y ago
Isn't BlueTooth the same spectrum as WiFi so if your chip can do WiFi it should be able to do BlueTooth?
- martin8412 3y ago
  Your microwave oven is around the same spectrum(2.45GHz). Doesn't mean that it will be able to transmit WiFi or Bluetooth, but it might interfere with both.
- rcarmo 3y ago
  Different Media Access Control and framing. They're only borderline related, even in terms of radio channel definitions (they overlap in the 2.4GHz frequency range, but are incompatible).
- adql 3y ago
  Technically, if it is just "a fancy SDR" and not some hardware dedicated just for WiFi
Daneel_ 3y ago
It shipped with the hardware, albeit unused. They always intended to go back and add Bluetooth support, so it’s nice it’s here now.
pastage 3y ago
The W model has Bluetooth, the plain version RP Pico 2040 version does not. BT has always been possible to use but under a non commercial license.

devmor 3y ago

Extremely awesome. I have a lot of Pico W projects that send very minimal wifi data and could benefit from the reduced power consumption of BT.

dabluecaboose 3y ago

Somehow I missed the release of the pico. Has anyone played with one? What's it like to tinker with compared to a pi zero or a full sized pi?

HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
Completely different device for a different set of use cases.
- Daneel_ 3y ago
  Precisely. It’s best to think of it as a dedicated and customisable IoT device. I put one in my coffee machine, for example, so that I can turn it on/off remotely or on a schedule, as well as read the grinder value much more precisely (5V potentiometer) than the number the machine provides (1-45).
  - dabluecaboose 3y ago
    Wow, that's a super cool use case! I'm super interested in "smart-ifying" things by being able to measure them/read state remotely as opposed to controlling them. This sounds like it might be really useful for that!
    - Daneel_ 3y ago
      Absolutely. It has 4x 10-bit ADCs built in, so precise measurement is quite easy. I used a voltage divider to change the range from 5V to 3.3V. As mentioned in other comments, the Pico has two cores, so I’m actually running the small web server (for phone GUI) in a thread directly on the second core, meaning there’s never a time where I’m running code that could block web service. The grinder value gets updated 10x per second on the webpage via ajax, so it feels really responsive on your phone but doesn’t have to reload the page. I want to add a little oled to the coffee machine to show the output directly too. It’s a great little device. I’ll be open sourcing the code in the future on GitHub once I’ve worked a few more issues out (my handle is CodeByMiles).

Cieric 3y ago

There are already some cool projects using the PicoW bluetooth, I'm currently modifying https://github.com/DavidPagels/retro-pico-switch https://github.com/DavidPagels/retro-pico-switch to try and make a custom controller from scratch. Hopefully it'll get far enough to push to github at some point.

stavros 3y ago
This is really cool, I love the stuff that becomes possible with BLE support.

Tepix 3y ago

The RP2040 is very popular with Nintendo Switch modchips these days. I wonder Bluetooth makes these chips even better for the purpose (OTA updates?).

yardie 3y ago

Oh great! I just received a batch of Pico Ws and felt there may be BT functionality under the shield. Broadcom has incorporated into all their wifi chips even if it's not used/not connected.

tssva 3y ago
The blog post accompanying the release of the Pico W gave the part number of the Infineon wireless chip used by the Pico W, acknowledged the Bluetooth capability of the chip and stated it might be enabled in the future. I'm at a bit of a loss to your reference to Broadcom chips since the Pico W doesn't utilize Broadcom chips.

gadgetoid 3y ago

It’s been possible to use Bluetooth for a while, but a bug prevented Bluetooth and Wifi from running stably at the same time. I threw together a Bluetooth speaker firmware - for some of our (Pimoroni) boards - with FFT visualisation quite some months ago - https://github.com/Gadgetoid/galactic-bluetooth-audio https://github.com/Gadgetoid/galactic-bluetooth-audio Album art display is also possible but small matrix displays don’t lend themselves well to it - https://github.com/Gadgetoid/galactic-bluetooth-audio/pull/13 https://github.com/Gadgetoid/galactic-bluetooth-audio/pull/1...

andrewstuart 3y ago
Maybe try an hdmi output https://www.adafruit.com/product/5710 https://www.adafruit.com/product/5710
- gadgetoid 3y ago
  Already on it- see the PR!
matt_trentini 3y ago
As well as the BLE/WiFi issue, there was another defect that prevented some devices from connecting to the Pico W over BLE reliably. Both have been resolved with this release.