Make It Great: Bluetooth Remote with @adafruit #bluefruit
I recently put an old laptop in my room as an XBMC computer. However, whenever I wanted to switch the content that was playing, I would have to drag myself out of my warm bed to change the content on the computer. I searched far and wide for a glitch free way to control XBMC. One option would be using the web/app based controller for XBMC, but if there was a network error the network controller wouldn’t work. I found Adafruit’s IR Key remote system , but IR has to have a clear line of sight, and in my case that wouldn’t always be available. Then I found the Bluefruit EZ-Key. It’s a Bluetooth device that can be easily programmed to emulate keyboard presses.
Overall this project turned out great! The remote is very snappy and responsive, and solved my problem.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
