NXT Python Lightblue Glue

Python/Bluetooth Support for Lego Mindstorms NXT on Mac OS X

The file bluetooth.py contains some Python glue code I wrote to allow NXT_Python to run on Mac OS X without modification. NXT_Python uses the PyBluez package, which (as of April 2008) runs on Linux and (perhaps) Windows but not on Mac OS X. My bluetooth.py implements just the code from PyBluez/bluetooth.py that is needed by NXT_Python. Here's what you need to do:

Make sure that Python 2.4 or higher is running on your Mac.
Download and install Lightblue.
You will also need PyObjC. If you're running Mac OS X v10.5 (Leopard), PyObjC comes built-in. Otherwise, download and install PyObjC yourself.
Download and install NXT_Python.
Download bluetooth.py
In your ~/.profile and/or ~/.bashrc files, set the PYTHONPATH shell variable to the directory where you saved bluetooth.py. For example, my ~/.profile contains the line

export PYTHONPATH=~/nxt_lightblue_glue

The reason that you're not installing this package as a normal Python package is that it's just a patch to avoid having to modify NXT Python.
Turn your NXT brick on, enable Bluetooth on it, and run some NXT_Python test program to make sure everything works. For example, the mary.py program in the examples directory will play a tune without requiring your to plug in any sensors or motors. The first time you do this, your NXT brick will probably tell you its passcode (default = 1234), and your Mac will prompt you for this passcode.