Bluno Bee - Turn Arduino to a Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE) Ready Board

The Bluno Bee is a compact serial-to-Bluetooth 4.0 (BLE) module designed in a standard XBee form factor. It instantly adds wireless BLE connectivity to Arduino boards equipped with an XBee socket or expansion shield. It is ideal for students, makers, and developers building wearable devices, IoT projects, and remote-controlled robotics.

Drop-in XBee form factor

Featuring standard XBee pinouts, the module plugs directly into compatible Arduino expansion shields and carrier boards. An onboard voltage regulator supports both 3.3V and 5V microcontrollers for easy hardware integration.

Wireless programming and transparent transmission

The module supports point-to-point wireless transparent data transmission and over-the-air sketch uploading for Arduino Uno, Fio, and Mega. It also supports Bluetooth HID connections for interfacing directly with a PC.

Master-slave switching and networking

With support for master and slave switching, two Bluno Bee modules can establish direct Arduino-to-Arduino wireless links. It also connects into low-power star networks for rapid, real-time multi-device communication.

Mobile support and open-source apps

The module links to iOS and Android smartphones via the Play Bluno app for rapid mobile prototyping. Open-source mobile application code is available for custom secondary application development.

AT commands and firmware upgrades

Developers can configure and debug the BLE module using standard AT command sets. The onboard BLE chip program and firmware can also be updated conveniently via USB.

Low-power TI CC2540 transceiver

Driven by the TI CC2540 2.4GHz BLE chip, the module reaches a transmission range of up to 60 metres in free space at transfer rates up to 1Mbps. It consumes an average of 10.6mA in working mode and 8.7mA in ready mode.

Downloads & documentation

• Product wiki (DFRobot)
• Schematic V1.1