Arduino wireless communication

Question

So what is the easiest way to get started? There are so many options available it's hard to decide, from a beginner's standpoint, which is the best.

What is the best option for simple wireless communication? That is, communication from a controller to move a robot, or from an arduino to relay information back to a computer for processing.

Drawing from your experiences, what's the 'best' option in your opinion?

Answer 1

Bluetooth would be the most flexible, however I believe xbee to be the easiest. Software wise xbee is exactly the same as serial an even allows for wireless reprogramming and the higher end ones have some serious range.

Answer 2

Bluetooth can be easy if you have a Bluetooth device you're trying to talk to (e.g. Mac-book or Smartphone). The problem is that Bluetooth radios for the the Arduino are still (in 2013) expensive. A Bluetooth radio usually costs more than an Arduino! Low Power Bluetooth may be an option as well. Essentially, Bluetooth is a simple serial transfer of data so you have to create your own protocol on both sides.

Bluetooth Low Energy BLEis an emerging technology and is available on some new devices (recent iPads, macbooks etc: Supoorted Devices ), this may or may not meet your requirements.