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I am doing some feasibility research for a project and I am not an expert. I would like to control my smartwatch via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) from a device which is not a smartwatch. Nothing really fancy, no app running difficult tasks, no login/security, no external DB, just some controlling like: turning screen on, swiping back and forth, selecting and using basic functionalities embedded in every smartwatch let’s say by default (e.g. email, phone calls, sms, play music), and turning screen off. Basically, instead of interacting with the smartwatch via touchscreen, I want to interact to the smartwatch via BLE. Instead of using the smartwatch’s touchscreen as the source of inputs, I want to use another device as its source of inputs. Targeted OS is mostly Android (but any other is useful to know!).

1) Is there any smartwatch that allows developing such functionalities in the smartwatch itself, without developing in the smartphone (i.e. I deploy some APIs in the smartwatch that handle the BLE module and implement the tasks above mentioned)? Can I pair my smartwatch with multiple devices also not necessarily smartphones? I know that Pebble Time is highly developable and a solution like this one can be (or will be able to be) implemented, I am curious if there are any other models that can allow this amongst Android and iOS devices.

2) As I don’t expect many devices that allow what asked in 1, a smartphone app is to be implemented. All that I would like this app to do is bridging the BLE connection between a devices and the smartwatch. This means that I don’t want to implement a new email client app, or a new music player. I would like to use the apps present already in the smartphone/watch, but control them from another device via BLE (i.e. rather than via the smartwatch touchscreen). So basically the signals/controls will go from device to smartphone, and from smartphone to smartwatch (and from smartwatch back to smartphone, but due to the application that I am using). In short, I don’t want to develop a proper smartwatch app, but a smartphone app that controls a smartwatch (no app deployed in the smartwatch itself). Are the APIs to do so from the smartwatch (swipe left, scroll down, select, etc. - basically the same exact APIs used by the smartwatch touchscreen driver) available for Android and/or iOS?

Your wisdom and ideas are more than welcome (please remember I am not a coding guru), thanks for reading! Dan

MikeDev
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I'm not familiar with the other smartwatch platforms, but I can speak for the Pebble.

Unfortunately, the things you want to accomplish aren't possible with the Pebble. We do have a private BLE SDK for developers that lets them write apps that can use BLE to talk to other devices, but we don't have any API's that let you simulate button clicks, controlling of system apps, etc.

Best of luck!

Kirby Kohlmorgen
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  • Thanks Kirby! Do you think such a solution could be implemented via Smart Strap? I mean, I could implement a BLE module in the strap, that in turn controls the smartwatch directly via the pins (without having necessarily to write a smartphone app). Is there such level of control via the Smart Strap pins (again: swiping screens, selecting pre-existing apps, interact with these apps, etc.)? Or basically, if I want to control phone calls, emails, sms and these system apps, I have to develop MY OWN phone calls, emails, sms apps (don't even know if it's possible/useful)?Thanks! – MikeDev Jul 20 '15 at 08:48
  • YES! I completely forgot to mention smartstraps. Opening apps, simulating button clicks, etc are all apart of the smartstrap API, which will be released later this year. – Kirby Kohlmorgen Jul 20 '15 at 18:14