The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is determined to make it easier for developers to create products for the Internet of Things (IoT), culminating in the beta release of its Bluetooth Developer Studio software-based development kit.
The announcement was made at Bluetooth World in Santa Clara, Calif. "The SIG has put tremendous focus on building tools and programs to help developers get to market faster and reduce learning time--the Bluetooth Developer Studio is the culmination of that work," said Steve Hegenderfer, director of developer programs at Bluetooth SIG, in a press release. "Providing tools like this for the industry makes it possible for developers, innovators or anyone with an idea for the IoT to bring their product idea to market quickly and inexpensively."
Based on feedback from alpha users and veteran Bluetooth developers, the toolset could shorten development time as much as 70 percent.
The Bluetooth Developer Studio is a graphical, GATT-based application-development and debugging tool. With the kit's drag-and-drop functionality, developers can find the Bluetooth profile they need, build on it and create their own project. The tool auto-generates code from third-party solutions, such as Bluetooth chip and module suppliers, and can test with both virtual and physical device options.
Bluetooth is expected to be one of the key technologies in the IoT world. More than 3 billion Bluetooth-enabled devices are expected to ship this year alone, so ensuring a reliable user experience is a huge priority for developers around the globe, Hegenderfer said. "The Bluetooth Developer Studio makes it easy to create consistent implementations that 'just work' for customers," he said. "The tool also gives developers a chance to share their implementations with the larger Bluetooth developer community. They can share reference designs or simply publish their custom use cases for others to use or build from."
In a blog post, Hegenderfer said the Bluetooth SIG brainstormed a lot about how it could add value to developers by shortening the product-development life cycle. Many ideas were explored, and some of them were bounced off the Bluetooth community.
"Getting to the launch of the Bluetooth Developer Studio has been a very long journey, but really, this is just the beginning," he said. "Going forward, we will extend the tool as you suggest new features and ways to use it. And as the Bluetooth core technology adds new functionality, so will [D]eveloper [S]tudio."
For more:
- see this blog
- see the press release
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