Has anybody been able to connect their PC to a uArm Swift/SwiftPro via bluetooth - either with the uFactory-provided dongle (pictured below), or with built-in bluetooth from the PC? Is the bluetooth dongle supposed to provide wireless connectivity between PC and Swift, replacing USB cable connection?
I can connect to the Swift Pro via bluetooth using the the uArm Play app and see “uarmswpro” in my BT connected devices, and can control the Swift Pro.
Help on how to do the same from PC? (my working environment in screenshot below)
Hi. I tried as well using the PC internal BT, but did not succeed in pairing with the uArm even though it was found as a pairable device. If I could have paired it my guess is that I could have set up a COM port on that device, and used that in uArm studio. But… As of ow, no luck.
Hi @Hjelt, now that you mentioned it I do see “uarmswpro” on a Win7 32-bit machine (which I can’t install 64-bit only Studio on), but still cannot pair. On a Mac OS, it’s not even able to discover the Swift Pro. Waiting for that fix when I can operate uArm from PC without USB cables.
From personal experience, the arm only responds to the dongle that is supplied with the box. I cannot tell if the dongle is doing anything more than advertising itself as a BT device, but once it is powered up, the arm pairs with it almost instantly.
I have another BT V4.0 dongle I am going to try pairing the arm with but can’t tell if it is going to work. My “theory” is that the arm would only pair with a V4.0 BT dongle. Perhaps because that’s a link with the potential for higher data rate / volume for some of the applications the arm can be put to.
If the arm pairs with the dongle (lights go blue) then you can try sending commands to it via a simple terminal line. For example, using putty, on a serial connection at 115200 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no sync. You can then try sending a simple command (like P2234) and see how it responds. If you decide to try this, can you please let us know how is the device supposed to respond? I have a swift and I cannot get it to communicate either via serial or BT
EDIT:
By the way, if you try to connect at a different speed (i.e. 9600) then the motors jam the arm tightly closed. This is probably because the arm is fed dummy data from the port directing it to a position that is impossible. I was a bit concerned this might damage it. Maybe it needs stop switches at the extremes, or “electronic trip switches” so that it cuts the power if the load on the motors becomes too much (?)
The dongle looks like an FTDI-made bluetooth. If a PC already has built-in bluetooth, and is compatible with the dongle specs, could you consider making uArm Swift(Pro) pairable with the built-in BT, so we free up one USB port?
We currently don’t have this plan. Because the built-in Bluetooth of Mac/Win/Linux are different and we don’t have enough hands on this issue now. But I can understand your need.
Plug in Bluetooth module to your PC, let uArm stay close to PC, and then you can control uArm via uArm Studio wirelessly.
If Mac failed to discover uArm via Bluetooth:
Donwload FTDI driver here: VCP Drivers - FTDI
(some Mac systems don’t have built-in drivers)
Restart PC and try again.
If PC(Win/Mac/Linux) can discover but failed to pair with uArm:
it’s caused by an error of pairing prior to shipping.
We’re now developing a simple tool for manual pairing so you can pair it yourself.
It will take several days(including testing). I’ll keep you informed.
Thanks for your patience & sorry for the trouble.
Thanks for sharing the resource file. I tried it out but so far have not been able to successfully pair the BT dongle with SwiftPro on my Mac (10.12.6)…
The tool detects SwiftPro when connected to USB, but not the dongle even when it is connected to the Mac USB port.
On Mac OS’ System Information on USB ports, I find two identical FTDI devices connected - one is from the uFactory BT dongle, and the other came with the iMac. Either way, the pair tool still cannot detect the USB BT dongle.
At this point SwiftPro is not even pairing over bluetooth with the uFactory-provided USB dongle (which is supposed to work but have not so far) on macOS, and I’m trying out that combination first.
hi @ebto, Would you please try disconnect all device (especially Arduino devices), only left uArm Swift Pro and the Bluetooth adapter. And make sure the bluetooth adapter LED is flashing.
Thanks for replying. No other Arduino devices were connected when tested, dongle blue LED is usually ON, not blinking. I tried a second time and after crashing my iMac (which is usually pretty stable), it is able to “pair” but not successfully every time.
Not sure what to do next so I have questions hope you can answer:
Why is the arm not showing in the list of bluetooth connected devices on PC/Mac?
When I unplug the USB, pairing goes off. Does this mean I still have to connect on USB even when it’s already connected over bluetooth?
uArm Studio or Arduino IDE cannot connect to SwiftPro when this tool is up, how can I make them recognize SwiftPro over bluetooth?
It should be Arduino Mega 2560
Or you could type this command in the terminal. ls /dev/tty.usb*
It will show you the serial device which connected to your Mac.
The tool will scan all connected Serial ports. It will connect to Swift Pro, BLE Adapter automatically And compare the MAC address.
This pair tool will save the Swift bluetooth MAC address in the adapter. If pair succeed, The Bluetooth Adapter will only connect to the specific paired device.
You don’t have to open the tool every time, you should close other software such as Arduino IDE and uArmStudio before you open the tool.
After a few trial and error, I am now able to connect Swift Pro wirelessly to the PC (Mac) and control it from Studio and Arduino IDE - which recognize it as “/dev/cu.usbserial-AI02SDMU”. Here are a few minor issues:
On Control module from Studio, the arm moves, but verrry slowwwly - as in Tai Chi slow…
On Arduino IDE, opening the serial monitor does not show the lines below like when on USB. But I can send G-code and it works, though.
With BT connectivity I can now place the arm at a safer distance away from the PC without risking it knocking the PC or snagging cables or nearby objects. Makes it easier to take videos of projects too. Thanks for providing the tool and enabling pairing!
Sorry for the late response. It’s a good news to hear it solves your problem.
We have fixed this problem, This fix will come with next Studio version, 1.1.14 (might be Sep-01).
It’s a little bit ridiculous, but this is what bluetooth works.
PC → Serial USB → transform to Bluetooth → uArm Swift Bluetooth → transform to Serial
So when you power up the Swift, It will send the self-debug message to the bluetooth adapter if it was connected. But if you connect the bluetooth adapter first, and power up the Swift latter, you will get the message in the Serial Monitor.
It’s a good idea to make a video tutorial, I will make one and post it on FAQ.
You are welcome, @ebto I’m glad this tool could help you.
