The Crownstone USB dongle can be used to connect any device with a USB port to a Crownstone. This connection is not just an ordinary Bluetooth Low Energy connection, but the dongle hooks up directly into the Crownstone Bluetooth Mesh.
The USB dongle can be used in tandem with Home Assistant, see our tutorial. The USB dongle has to following benefits:
Switch or dim events are passed directly through the mesh to your hub.
Switch or dim commands can be directly sent through the mesh to the Crownstones.
Switch or dim commands do not depend on the presence of your smartphone.
Latencies are low (lower than when going through the cloud).
Energy consumption data can be obtained on your hub.
