BLE Made Easy: Your First ESP32 Bluetooth Device

About the workshop
In this event, we’ll explore how to use the ESP32 to communicate with devices over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). You’ll learn how to program a button and a rotary encoder, set up BLE services, and turn the ESP32 into a Bluetooth input device. By the end, you’ll see how to pair it with devices like smartphones or PCs and test its functionality.

It’s a fun, hands-on way to dive into ESP32 and BLE projects. Bring your laptop and join us!

Pre-requirements
Arduino IDE

Speaker: Igor Udot, Software Engineer
When: 🗓️ November 30th, 2 PM to 5 PM
Where: 信条书店 Tenet Reviver
ONE EAST Plaza L2-1A&B
788 Zhongshan S 1st Road, Huangpu District,
Shanghai World Expo Museum Line 13 Exit 3A
信条书店 上海市黄浦区中山南一路788号博荟广场

Agenda:
1. Introduction
- Overview of ESP32 capabilities
- Introduction to Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and HID (Human Interface Device)
- Use cases for BLE-based input devices

2. Setting Up the Development Environment
- Installing Arduino IDE
- Configuring the ESP32 for development

3. Programming the Button
- Wiring and connecting a physical button to the ESP32
- Writing firmware to detect button presses
- Sending button press events over serial communication

4. Programming the Rotary Encoder
- Understanding rotary encoder signals
- Writing firmware to detect rotation and direction
- Sending rotary encoder events over serial communication

5. Starting the BLE Service
- Initializing the BLE stack on ESP32
- Configuring the BLE server
- Creating BLE characteristics for the input device
- Advertising the BLE service

6. Communicating with Devices as an Input Device (HID)
- Setting up ESP32 as a BLE HID device
- Mapping button and rotary encoder inputs to HID protocols
- Testing communication with a paired device (e.g., smartphone, PC)

About codebar Shanghai
codebar is a charity that facilitates the growth of a diverse tech community by running free regular programming workshops for minority groups in tech.

Sponsors:
信条书店 Tenet Reviver