MetaWear Android API

The MetaWear Android API is a library for interacting with MbientLab's Bluetooth sensor Development boards on an Android device. A minimum of Android 11.0 (SDK 30) is required to use this library, however for the best results, it is recommended that users be on Android 13 (SDK 33).

Setup

Adding Compile Dependency

To add the library to your project, first, update the repositories closure to include the MbientLab Ivy Repo in the project's
build.gradle file.

repositories {
    ivy {
        url "https://mbientlab.com/releases/ivyrep"
        layout "gradle"
    }
}

Then, add the compile element to the dependencies closure in the module's build.gradle file.

dependencies {
    compile 'com.mbientlab:metawear:4.0.0'
}

The library was built on Java 17 but works fine with the built-in Java 11 in Android Studio Eel.

Declaring the Service

Once your project has synced with the updated Gradle files, declare the MetaWear Bluetooth LE service in the module's AndroidManifest.xml file.

<application
    android:allowBackup="true"
    android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
    android:label="@string/app_name"
    android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >

    <service android:name="com.mbientlab.metawear.android.BtleService" />
    <!-- Other application info below i.e. activity definitions -->
</application>

Binding the Service

Lastly, bind the service in your application and retrain a reference to the service's LocalBinder class. This can be done in any activity or fragment that needs access to a MetaWearBoard object.

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.*;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.IBinder;

import com.mbientlab.metawear.android.BtleService;

public class ExampleActivity extends Activity implements ServiceConnection {
    private BtleService.LocalBinder serviceBinder;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        ///< Bind the service when the activity is created
        getApplicationContext().bindService(new Intent(this, BtleService.class),
                this, Context.BIND_AUTO_CREATE);
    }

    @Override
    public void onDestroy() {
        super.onDestroy();

        ///< Unbind the service when the activity is destroyed
        getApplicationContext().unbindService(this);
    }

    @Override
    public void onServiceConnected(ComponentName name, IBinder service) {
        ///< Typecast the binder to the service's LocalBinder class
        serviceBinder = (BtleService.LocalBinder) service;
    }

    @Override
    public void onServiceDisconnected(ComponentName componentName) { }
}