BeetleIN

BeetleIN is a simple way of using an Android phone or tablet as a touch screen input/output device for a Raspberry Pi without doing any Android programming. All the coding is done on the Raspberry Pi in Python or C. The connection is made from the Android device via Bluetooth LE. There are two components: this BeetleIN Android app, and server code that runs on the Pi and waits for Android devices to connect. The server code and full documentation can be found at https://github.com/petzval/beetlein. Simple Python or C instructions set up clickable buttons, drop-down selection lists, check boxes, text input boxes, or send text and graphics to the Android for display. So the Android can be used as a touch-screen input device, an output screen, or a mixture of both. One Pi can be connected by multiple Android devices simultaneously and run the same code or different code on each. When used in this way, BeetleIN is effectively a miniature multitasking GUI. On the other hand, one Android device can connect to multiple Pis simultaneously, and they can each be running a different process. Switching the Android screen from one Pi to another is done with a single tap. The Android can address each Pi individually, or broadcast instructions to all the Pis. Because it allows multiple connections in both directions, BeetleIN can be used to manage a network of Androids or Pis. BeetleIN can potentially replace the Pi's keyboard, mouse and screen, so the Pi can be headless.