COVID CO2 Tracker: getting started with realtime upload!
A few months ago, I finished work on the prototype for an android client app that uploads measurements to my COVID CO2 tracker app in realtime!
While talking to prospective beta testers, I’ve just written the instructions each time in private messages. I will keep this blog post up to date with instructions. I will improve the user experience as time goes on (and more people use it), and plan to make it easier!
The majority of configuration happens via the Co2Trackers.com interface. This was much easier for me to implement – I could reuse a lot of code! – but also means it may not be obvious when you install the android app at first.
The configuration is actually much the same as it is for uploading your first measurement manually, and at the moment, you need to add a single measurement for the location manually to begin. Watch the instruction video linked on the home page for instructions.
Then, select a sublocation from the drop-down, and the “choose place for realtime upload” will be available. Click it, then restart the android app. At this point, anytime you change the settings, you should restart the app.
Now, the app is ready to work! As long as the device is within range of the aranet4, you should see a “start background polling & updating” button. Once you click that, the app will start a service (you will see a bar in the notification area!) and you can minimize it by hitting the home button. The app will now upload data automatically.
I am working to make the app automatically start when your device starts up, but as of writing, you need to start it again (and click the “start background polling and updating” button) each time you reboot the device! This feature is fairly annoying to develop and debug, but it’s something I should roll out next.
Limitations
The app currently uploads one measurement every 15 minutes, not the measurements in between. The GATT characteristic that returns all recent measurements is undocumented and I have not reverse engineered it.
I currently only support one device at a time right now. I don’t even have enough beta testers to worry about multiple sensors yet 😉
Alexander Riccio 