Data Fitness Connector Makes It Easy to Connect Peloton Bikes to Devices and Apps
Based on an nRF52840 SoC, the DFC sends your fitness bike data to third-party apps, smartwatches, and other devices in real-time.
Jason Veneman of Minneapolis-based Intelligenate is set to release the Data Fitness Connector (DFC) — a small, open source Bluetooth LE device that enables Peloton bikes to connect to fitness watches, bike head units (computers), and apps. The DFC was designed to provide connection and data options for Peloton fitness bikes, features not yet available in their stock models. It reads power and cadence data in real-time, via a connection cable, and transmits that data to nearby gadgets, including those built around non-Peloton platforms such as Zwift and Garmin.
For example, suppose you would like to use a Garmin with a Peleton bike. First, you would have to sync the data with a third-party app, translate the data in a language the Garmin can understand, import the results into a Garmin account, then use the Garmin to connect to a smartwatch or other mobile device. The DFC does all of that without the hassle and provides that data in real-time. The DFC was designed around a Nordic nRF52840 Cortex-M4 SoC and features an exposed 11-pin GPIO header, 16Mb of QSPI external memory, and two channels of bi-directional RS-232-to-TTL/CMOS conversion via a MAX3222 IC.
The DFC is also equipped with an I²C JST connector that's compatible with SparkFun's Qwiic and Adafruit's STEMMA QT Connect System, SWD connections on the front and back of the PCB, a pair of 3.5 mm stereo jacks connected, which connect to one another and to the RS-232 driver/receiver IC, and two USB Type-C connectors that allow DFC to be placed in-line with a USB cable operating at up to 20 V.
Intelligenate is set to launch the DFC Fitness Connector on Crowd Supply in the coming weeks, and Jason plans to upload the schematic, layout and design files onto the company's GitHub repository when the DFC is shipped to the crowdfunded supporters.