LoPy: Micropython support on LoRa and BLE

[mark915]

I'd like to know how robust or how extensive is the Micropython support on the LoPy boards. Particularly I'd like to know ahead if there are significant difficulties in writing a Micropython program to support LoRa-based and Bluetooth-based communications.

I have extensive experience with the ESP8266 NodeMcu boards and Micropython, and I'm also a software developer by profession. The current Bluetooth support on ESP32 is still at its infancy. There was an initial pull request to support it but nothing yet merged on the ESP32 branch (I'm referring on the repos mentioned here).

I was gonna experiment with NodeMcu-based LoRa boards but it turns out there is no dev board that supports it. Hence I am strongly evaluating my options with LoPy. It seems it's the only Micropython-based board that supports LoRa with Ble (via ESP 32).

Also I'm a Mac/Linux user as opposed to a Windows user. I prefer to run things via my preferred IDE (Atom or IntelliJ) or via terminal. How's the programming workflow with the LoPy boards?

Thanks

[livius]

@mark915
Hi, for me this question is too open.
Please precise it more, ask for some detail

without this i can only redirect you to the official documentation
https://docs.pycom.io/
and getting started page
https://docs.pycom.io/chapter/gettingstarted/unboxing.html

[ekwus]

Hey

I have successfully written Python code that transmit sensor readings to my LoRaWAN gateway on the ThingsNetwork and code that transmits senor readings to an Android BLE Test application.

I'm still in the middle of development and haven't hit any show stoppers yet.

Cheers

Dave

[jcaron]

@mark915 There is definitely support for both, but your mileage may vary significantly depending on exactly what you want/need to do. The paint is still quite wet, and there are regular fixes, and a few outstanding issues here and there. All in all it works quite well, but there are sometimes a few surprises.

If you have a more precise description of what you want/need to do, you may be able to get more precise feedback on whether specific features are well supported or not. Including things like what expansion board you are planning to use, whether you need deep sleep, if you need to interface with external sensors (or use any of the provided sensors), whether you're using LoRa in "raw" or LoRaWAN mode, what BLE features you need (advertising, scanning, connecting...) would probably help a lot.

[panos29]

@ekwus Hi Dave,

Did you get sensor readings to your android device using wifi or ble?

Thanks

[ekwus]

Hi @panos29

I was able to receive data using BLE and I was able to send data to my LoPy using BLE.

The Android app BLE Scanner is a good starting point as it was able to detect the endpoints from the example BLE code and display the values.

I never tried to do the same using WiFi as it is not a requirement for me.

Cheers

Dave

[panos29]

@ekwus Thanks for the response. What kind of data rate is it possible to achieve using BLE?