RehabTools
NOTES · REHABTOOLS COLLECTION

MIT App Inventor - Bluetooth

Follow a simple Bluetooth serial-data example for MIT App Inventor, including a header that identifies each incoming value.

ArchiveOriginally published: Not establishedEditorial review: 20 Sep 2026Maintainer: RehabTools · Ross Allan Clark & collaborators

Editorial review covers presentation and historical context, not full scientific validation or current hardware compatibility.


I output the serial data over bluetooth with a simple header in the same line. For example it would look like:
A 651
A 652
A 650
B 12654
A 651
If I was sending data from 2 sensors that have different sample rates. Then to convert the serial data into something useable you can use contains text and the text segment method to categorise the individual sensor data. Works great! Also in AI any numbers in the serial string are treated as numbers so it is very easy to work with. 

The right side of this image is great to use as a template for serial data over bluetooth: https://community.appinventor.mit.edu/uploads/default/original/2X/3/3183d1a513784e75c4188f76ab484510f6c65dd6.png

But you also need to allow permissions on Android 12. See the image below on how to do it. 



MIT App Inventor - Bluetooth — original illustration

Keep exploring

Learning resources →Research figures →Publications & abstracts →