Thread Subject: Matlab with bluetooth serial adapter

HI,

I have to give commands via matlab to my robot, which I have connected via a bluetooth serial adapter. I have Matlab version R2007b. My bluetooth serial adapter is this: http://www.rovingnetworks.com/firefly.php

I am using baudrate of 38400. The bluetooth COM ports are COM4 for outgoing and COM5 for incoming.

The problem is that I am unable to use fopen on the ports in order to connect them to Matlab. I am doing this -

>> sPort = serial('COM4','BaudRate',38400)

   Serial Port Object : Serial-COM4

   Communication Settings
      Port: COM4
      BaudRate: 38400
      Terminator: 'LF'

   Communication State
      Status: closed
      RecordStatus: off

   Read/Write State
      TransferStatus: idle
      BytesAvailable: 0
      ValuesReceived: 0
      ValuesSent: 0
 
>> fopen(sPort)
??? Error using ==> serial.fopen at 71
Cannot connect to the COM4 port. Possible reasons are another
application is connected to the port or the port does not exist.


I either get this error, or sometimes --

??? Error using ==> serial.fopen at 71
Port: COM4 is not available. Available ports: COM1, COM4, COM5.
Use INSTRFIND to determine if other instrument objects are connected to the requested device.

So, it says COM4 is not available and then lists it under available ports. I know for a fact that COM4 is not connected to anything and is availabe.

If I don't have bluetooth at COM4, it won't give me any troubles. If I am using a serial cable at COM1 or something too, it won't give any errors

So what can I do to make it connect to this bluetooth COM port?

Also, when the port is "incoming" for bluetooth - it connects fine then too. Like I don't have troubles opening COM5.

"Nimita Wadhwa" <nimitawadhwa@gmail.com> wrote in message <h5uqmt$71r$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
> HI,
>
> I have to give commands via matlab to my robot, which I have connected via a bluetooth serial adapter. I have Matlab version R2007b. My bluetooth serial adapter is this: http://www.rovingnetworks.com/firefly.php
>
> I am using baudrate of 38400. The bluetooth COM ports are COM4 for outgoing and COM5 for incoming.
>
> The problem is that I am unable to use fopen on the ports in order to connect them to Matlab. I am doing this -
>
> >> sPort = serial('COM4','BaudRate',38400)
>
> Serial Port Object : Serial-COM4
>
> Communication Settings
> Port: COM4
> BaudRate: 38400
> Terminator: 'LF'
>
> Communication State
> Status: closed
> RecordStatus: off
>
> Read/Write State
> TransferStatus: idle
> BytesAvailable: 0
> ValuesReceived: 0
> ValuesSent: 0
>
> >> fopen(sPort)
> ??? Error using ==> serial.fopen at 71
> Cannot connect to the COM4 port. Possible reasons are another
> application is connected to the port or the port does not exist.
>
>
> I either get this error, or sometimes --
>
> ??? Error using ==> serial.fopen at 71
> Port: COM4 is not available. Available ports: COM1, COM4, COM5.
> Use INSTRFIND to determine if other instrument objects are connected to the requested device.
>
> So, it says COM4 is not available and then lists it under available ports. I know for a fact that COM4 is not connected to anything and is availabe.
>
> If I don't have bluetooth at COM4, it won't give me any troubles. If I am using a serial cable at COM1 or something too, it won't give any errors
>
> So what can I do to make it connect to this bluetooth COM port?

"Nimita Wadhwa" <nimitawadhwa@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:h5vkdh$g1s$1@fred.mathworks.com...
> Also, when the port is "incoming" for bluetooth - it connects fine then
> too. Like I don't have troubles opening COM5.
>
> "Nimita Wadhwa" <nimitawadhwa@gmail.com> wrote in message
> <h5uqmt$71r$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
>> HI,
>>
>> I have to give commands via matlab to my robot, which I have connected
>> via a bluetooth serial adapter. I have Matlab version R2007b. My
>> bluetooth serial adapter is this:
>> http://www.rovingnetworks.com/firefly.php
>>
>> I am using baudrate of 38400. The bluetooth COM ports are COM4 for
>> outgoing and COM5 for incoming.
>>
>> The problem is that I am unable to use fopen on the ports in order to
>> connect them to Matlab. I am doing this -
>>
>> >> sPort = serial('COM4','BaudRate',38400)
>>
>> Serial Port Object : Serial-COM4
>>
>> Communication Settings
>> Port: COM4
>> BaudRate: 38400
>> Terminator: 'LF'
>>
>> Communication State
>> Status: closed
>> RecordStatus: off
>>
>> Read/Write State
>> TransferStatus: idle
>> BytesAvailable: 0
>> ValuesReceived: 0
>> ValuesSent: 0
>>
>> >> fopen(sPort)
>> ??? Error using ==> serial.fopen at 71
>> Cannot connect to the COM4 port. Possible reasons are another
>> application is connected to the port or the port does not exist.
>>
>>
>> I either get this error, or sometimes --
>>
>> ??? Error using ==> serial.fopen at 71
>> Port: COM4 is not available. Available ports: COM1, COM4, COM5.
>> Use INSTRFIND to determine if other instrument objects are connected to
>> the requested device.
>>
>> So, it says COM4 is not available and then lists it under available
>> ports. I know for a fact that COM4 is not connected to anything and is
>> availabe.
>>
>> If I don't have bluetooth at COM4, it won't give me any troubles. If I am
>> using a serial cable at COM1 or something too, it won't give any errors
>>
>> So what can I do to make it connect to this bluetooth COM port?

This suggests that the driver does not fully support the windows serial API.
The different COM ports for incoming and outgoing communication are probably
going to be problematic. One bluetooth device that has worked with MATLAB
Serial is the one that is designed for the Lego Mindstorm product.

Thanks for your reply.

But what exactly do you mean by driver doesn't fully support "windows serial API"?

Is there some driver I could install to make this work? You're talking about Matlab drivers right? Is there another version that would work?

Also, when its just a serial cable, COM1, I don't have troubles opening it and when I try to transfer bytes, it does say that bytes are being transfered - although my robot does nothing - so I was thinking I have to double check my code on the robot side..
But with bluetooth it doesn't even OPEN the port.

so if the problem was with windows serial API, even the COM1, should not open right?

Thanks.

Hey Wadha,

Try using "advanced com port redirector" and redirect ur bluetooth serial outgoing port to a virtual port.

Unfortunately matlab doesn't support all bluetooth ports, See this http://www.mathworks.com/support/solutions/en/data/1-ZWNF9/index.html

So in my case com port redirection worked fine.


"Nimita Wadhwa" <nimitawadhwa@gmail.com> wrote in message <h5uqmt$71r$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
> HI,
>
> I have to give commands via matlab to my robot, which I have connected via a bluetooth serial adapter. I have Matlab version R2007b. My bluetooth serial adapter is this: http://www.rovingnetworks.com/firefly.php
>
> I am using baudrate of 38400. The bluetooth COM ports are COM4 for outgoing and COM5 for incoming.
>
> The problem is that I am unable to use fopen on the ports in order to connect them to Matlab. I am doing this -
>
> >> sPort = serial('COM4','BaudRate',38400)
>
> Serial Port Object : Serial-COM4
>
> Communication Settings
> Port: COM4
> BaudRate: 38400
> Terminator: 'LF'
>
> Communication State
> Status: closed
> RecordStatus: off
>
> Read/Write State
> TransferStatus: idle
> BytesAvailable: 0
> ValuesReceived: 0
> ValuesSent: 0
>
> >> fopen(sPort)
> ??? Error using ==> serial.fopen at 71
> Cannot connect to the COM4 port. Possible reasons are another
> application is connected to the port or the port does not exist.
>
>
> I either get this error, or sometimes --
>
> ??? Error using ==> serial.fopen at 71
> Port: COM4 is not available. Available ports: COM1, COM4, COM5.
> Use INSTRFIND to determine if other instrument objects are connected to the requested device.
>
> So, it says COM4 is not available and then lists it under available ports. I know for a fact that COM4 is not connected to anything and is availabe.
>
> If I don't have bluetooth at COM4, it won't give me any troubles. If I am using a serial cable at COM1 or something too, it won't give any errors
>
> So what can I do to make it connect to this bluetooth COM port?