Google wants to put Android in the next wave of smart devices that’ll be vying to fill up your home. It’s launching a version of Android today called Android Things that can run on products like connected speakers, security cameras, and routers. The OS is supposed to make it easier for companies to start shipping hardware, since they’ll be able to work with the Android dev tools they already know.
Android Things is a new name, but the operating system itself isn’t strictly new. It’s basically an update and a rebranding to Brillo, an Android-based OS for smart devices and Internet of Things products announced a little more than a year and a half ago. Brillo has — publicly, at least — gone close to nowhere. It was more or less a no-show at CES last year, and there’s been little mention of it since.
Unlike Brillo, development on Android Things can be accomplished with “the same developer tools as standard Android,” according to Google.
Though Android is right there in the name, it’s best not to think of Android Things as something you’d run alongside an Android phone and an Android Wear watch. Android Things is an OS that you won’t really see, working in the background to let smart devices handle complex tasks on their own instead of offloading them to some server for processing. That also means Android Things is a better fit for bigger and more capable smart products. Think printers, locks, and ovens more than light bulbs and power outlets.
Though Android Things devices will be able to integrate with Android (and iOS) devices, they would do so through Weave, a related but distinct communications system that Google launched alongside Brillo back in 2015.
Another week goes by and another new IoT platform surfaces. Google has announced Android Things, a build of the mobile operating system designed for smart devices rather than the latest slab of mobile eye-candy. The idea is that the same Android tools, framework and APIs that will already be familiar to app developers can be used seamlessly on IoT Things as well as in the user’s palm.
Of course, if this is sounding familiar, it’s because you may have heard something of it before. Last year they announced their Project Brillo IoT platform, and this appears to be the fruit of those efforts.
Rainbow HAT has a buffet of sensors, inputs and displays to explore Android ThingsTM. Use it as a weather station, a clock, a timer or stopwatch, a mood light, or endless other things.
We’ve worked with the Android Things team at Google to create this great add-on board that features displays, sensors, sound, and lots of LEDs! It’s the perfect introduction to developing Android Things applications on the Raspberry Pi.
Rainbow HAT also has a full Python API for use on Raspbian just like all of our other HATs that you know and love!
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
We are a professional review site that has advertisement and can receive compensation from the companies whose products we review. We use affiliate links in the post so if you use them to buy products through those links we can get compensation at no additional cost to you.OkDecline
5 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android Things is Google’s new OS for smart devices
http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/13/13924996/android-things-announced-smart-home-iot-operating-system
Google wants to put Android in the next wave of smart devices that’ll be vying to fill up your home. It’s launching a version of Android today called Android Things that can run on products like connected speakers, security cameras, and routers. The OS is supposed to make it easier for companies to start shipping hardware, since they’ll be able to work with the Android dev tools they already know.
Android Things is a new name, but the operating system itself isn’t strictly new. It’s basically an update and a rebranding to Brillo, an Android-based OS for smart devices and Internet of Things products announced a little more than a year and a half ago. Brillo has — publicly, at least — gone close to nowhere. It was more or less a no-show at CES last year, and there’s been little mention of it since.
Unlike Brillo, development on Android Things can be accomplished with “the same developer tools as standard Android,” according to Google.
Though Android is right there in the name, it’s best not to think of Android Things as something you’d run alongside an Android phone and an Android Wear watch. Android Things is an OS that you won’t really see, working in the background to let smart devices handle complex tasks on their own instead of offloading them to some server for processing. That also means Android Things is a better fit for bigger and more capable smart products. Think printers, locks, and ovens more than light bulbs and power outlets.
Though Android Things devices will be able to integrate with Android (and iOS) devices, they would do so through Weave, a related but distinct communications system that Google launched alongside Brillo back in 2015.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google Scrubs Brillo, Reveals Android Things
http://hackaday.com/2016/12/14/google-scrubs-brillo-reveals-android-things/
Another week goes by and another new IoT platform surfaces. Google has announced Android Things, a build of the mobile operating system designed for smart devices rather than the latest slab of mobile eye-candy. The idea is that the same Android tools, framework and APIs that will already be familiar to app developers can be used seamlessly on IoT Things as well as in the user’s palm.
Of course, if this is sounding familiar, it’s because you may have heard something of it before. Last year they announced their Project Brillo IoT platform, and this appears to be the fruit of those efforts.
So you may well be asking: what’s in it for us?
Announcing updates to Google’s Internet of Things platform: Android Things and Weave
https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2016/12/announcing-googles-new-internet-of-things-platform-with-weave-and-android-things.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rainbow HAT
https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/rainbow-hat-for-android-things
Rainbow HAT has a buffet of sensors, inputs and displays to explore Android ThingsTM. Use it as a weather station, a clock, a timer or stopwatch, a mood light, or endless other things.
We’ve worked with the Android Things team at Google to create this great add-on board that features displays, sensors, sound, and lots of LEDs! It’s the perfect introduction to developing Android Things applications on the Raspberry Pi.
Rainbow HAT also has a full Python API for use on Raspbian just like all of our other HATs that you know and love!
https://github.com/pimoroni/rainbow-hat
Tomi Engdahl says:
Android Things
Build connected devices for a wide variety of consumer, retail, and industrial applications.
https://github.com/androidthings
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://developer.android.com/things/hardware/raspberrypi.html
To flash Android Things onto your Raspberry Pi, download the latest preview image and follow these steps