[Michael Ossmann’s] talk from Schmoocon about his open source Bluetooth test tool called Ubertooth is now available to watch online. The video really fills in the gaps from the first time we looked at the project, as he covers why he took on the challenge, and what has happened since. He talks about how his work with the IM-ME helped in choosing hardware along the way, and the choices he made while developing the USB dongle. His hardware considerations included parts that didn’t require a nondisclosure agreement (keeping it open source) and that were available in single quantities so that individuals could build and populate their own boards quite easily.
We’ve embedded the talk after the break. The project is coming along great, and his Kickstart funds have almost doubled the original goal.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSd_1FE6z4Y&w=470]
I wonder if this is still worth while pursuing after Travis feat with the nordic chip / msp430 attack? ( http://hackaday.com/2011/02/07/sniffing-rf-hardware-communication-packets/ )
I suppose they’re both going in the same direction just going different ways.
If they were available now I’d grab one…
Travis’s technique is brilliant and quite useful, but it does not have as high a probability of success as the Ubertooth method. He and/or I will likely post more about this in the near future, but the short answer is: you could design an Ubertooth-like board using his technique at maybe 30% cost reduction, but it would likely lose more than 30% effectiveness.
I had very acceptable results using brass shim as a solder paste stencil, even for QFN parts. You just use the same method you use for etching pcb’s.
Hi Michael,
I see there being a huge advantage of using a arm processor on board, that will allow for some interesting features in the future.
Any thoughts on the future of SDR (software defined radios) in this new micro format?
Btw- Great presentation, I was able to watch it streaming as it happened.
Thanks, uC! I definitely see SDR taking off in embedded systems in the not too distant future. The Cortex-M3 I’m using in Project Ubertooth is still a bit lightweight for such things (and I’m not doing SDR in Ubertooth), but the Cortex-M4 will be much better for SDR. Then there are the multi-core ARMs coming out and various small programmable logic devices. . . The door is wide open! I’m still working on a low-cost microcontroller-based software radio peripheral, but it probably won’t be quite as low cost as Ubertooth One.
oooh michael, you’re sooooo dreamy~ ~
Schmoocon? There’s a yeast dating conference?
@Micheal et all.
There’s a wide spectrum (64MHz to 1,700MHz) RX only dongle here:
http://www.funcubedongle.com/
Which pretends to be a soundcard (I/Q samples) and relies on host PC processing for demod, doesn’t hit 2.4GHz range but might give further ideas for other projects.
Cheers,
Mungewell.
There is still 7 days to support the project and get an Ubertooth. Pretty sure if you click the third link in the post it will take you right to it for more info. Awesome work :)