Efficient Android Software Development Using MIT App Inventor 2 for Bluetooth-Based Smart Home

In this paper, a specific Android application for Bluetooth-based smart home system is presented. The aim of this research is to design, develop, and evaluate a user interface prototype for the smart home system. The designed mobile App is named by MINDS-apps V1, which is expected to be able to perform three tasks, (1) controlling by soft-control mode, i.e. an RGB ambient lamp and Fan; (2) controlling by hard-control, i.e. a generic power switch, curtain, door lock, and (3) monitoring purpose, i.e. humidity and temperature sensor. In total, there are six types of smart home devices used for the experiment. Using MIT App Inventor 2, the design process is divided into two phases: user interface design using the Components Designer and implementation of the programming logic using the Blocks Editor. Once the design is finished, the application is then compiled into debuggable APK file with 2.23 MB in size, after which it is tested on six aforementioned devices. The MINDS-apps is able to operate even in the low-end mobile device with 1 gigabyte of random access memory (RAM) and Bluetooth version 2.1.