Would it be possible to make a midi / osc controller using bluetooth LTE?
More specific, is the latency, data speed etc good enough for such a project?
The idea is to send the data via bluetooth (esp32 microcontroller) to a computer and then send it to supercollider using OSC.
I’m curious as well about bluetooth connection through SC, I assume it would be done through Serial somehow. But is there a reason why you need bluetooth and don’t just use OSC over wifi from the esp32 to SC? I often use esp8266 and esp32 for external control like this and have found it stable and having low enough latency, at least for my needs.
See: Access data via bluetooth
It’s interesting to find out what are the possibilities and what are the advantages/ disadvantages of a certain approach, but I thought Bluetooth (LTE) could be advantageous compared to WIFI in cases, because it’s uses less energy (battery) and is easier to connect in places outside of your local network (without the need of WIFI password etc.)
Great that you got it working. I’d be interested to hear your experience with it as you get further.
I would also recommend using WIFI. It is super stable and great for streaming OSC data. If you are only sending occasional data (triggers) and power is important, then it might be worth using BT. That said, I have only used BT in 1 project and it failed during one of the performances. WIFI has never failed me yet.
For installations and performances I do bring my own router with the IP addresses stored for all the devices. This can make setting up very quick and ensures that only my devices are on this network.
The last benefit of OSC/WIFI/Ethernet for me is that all of the tools and installations I have built over the years, work over the same protocol and they can connect in different ways. Connecting multiple devices for example both as wireless input sensors and output devices to turn on motors or lights is all possible on a network.
Thanks for your response, real life experience is always valuable.
I would also recommend using WIFI. It is super stable and great for streaming OSC data. If you are only sending occasional data (triggers) and power is important, then it might be worth using BT. That said, I have only used BT in 1 project and it failed during one of the performances. WIFI has never failed me yet
Is there a technical / theoretical explanation why BT would be more failure prone compared to WIFI?
For installations and performances I do bring my own router with the IP addresses stored for all the devices. This can make setting up very quick and ensures that only my devices are on this network.
Interesting. So you build a local WIFI network, without access to the Internet? Do I understand you correctly?
The last benefit of OSC/WIFI/Ethernet for me is that all of the tools and installations I have built over the years, work over the same protocol and they can connect in different ways. Connecting multiple devices for example both as wireless input sensors and output devices to turn on motors or lights is all possible on a network.
A other solution would be to use xbee (like the praised minibee), but they’re not easy to get, (all though the original version is still available via sensestage AFAIK).
For now, it’s just interesting for me to play with these protocols. But sure, then it’s also nice to know what works for others and why, so thanks again for sharing.
Sorry for the late reply.
I think the issue with BT protocol requires a handshake. If there are any issues with this, it seems to fall over. Or devices are not able to recover from this requiring the user to re-establish a connection.
Yes. You can run a DHCP server on many common routers without requiring access to the internet.
xbee is also an interesting platform to use. For me, OSC is the reason I use WIFI/Ethernet for all my work.