Python – BeaconZone Blog

Programming Bluetooth with Python on Linux

Python is an increasingly popular programming language due to its simplicity and readability. The gatt-python library for Python that facilitates the implementation and communication with Bluetooth Low Energy devices using the Generic Attribute Profile (GATT). GATT is the specification for the transmission and reception of short data over a Bluetooth Low Energy link.

The SDK supports a range of functionalities, including device discovery, connection and disconnection, custom GATT profile implementation and access to all Bluetooth GATT services and characteristics. It also allows for reading and writing characteristic values and subscribing to notifications for changes in these values. The library is only compatible with Linux because it uses the D-Bus API of BlueZ for Bluetooth device interaction.

Raspberry Pi Python3 Bluetooth device Scanner

There’s a recent open source Python3 Bluetooth device scanner SDL_Pi_iBeaconScanner that reads iBeacon advertisements using a Bluetooth dongle on a Raspberry Pi.

The code comes from the APress book Raspberry Pi IoT Projects: Prototyping Experiments for Makers.

Full source code from the book is also available.

BeaconTools Python Library

We recently came across a Python library, BeaconTools, for working with various types of Bluetooth LE Beacon. It supports iBeacon, Eddystone and Estimote beacons, extracting information from raw binary beacon advertisements. It can also work as a beacon scanner.

The source code is on GitHub.

Raspberry Pi Python Beacon Scanner

There’s a relatively new Raspberry Pi Python Beacon Scanner on GitHub.

The scanner can detect both iBeacon and Eddystone beacons.

Bluetooth LE Supported on Zerynth

There’s a growing number of operating systems for microcontrollers on single board computers, most of which can scan for Bluetooth LE devices such as beacons and connect to them via GATT for setup and extraction of data. Zerynth is now one such OS that you can program using Python.
Zerynth r2.2.0 update allows use of Bluetooth LE.

There’s a new article on Design Bluetooth BLE Applications in Python on ESP32 using Zerynth. The official documentation provides lots of examples.