Why you should use Android Things?
Before jumping to persuading you to use Android Things using some cliche stats and figures, let me make this clear that don’t read this article like a Developer! Read it like an innovator, a thinker who wants to build something that is useful and exciting.
Android Things is an Android based embedded operating system platform announced by Google, at Google I/O 2015. It is simply stated as “Hardware based development”. If you are ever excited by IoT Devices (including Home Automation), Android Things is the right place to start. It is a device without screen! (Screen is optional)
Android Things is an extension to the Android platform which allows you to build IoT Devices. Since all of you know Android Development, you can use existing software skill stack to build Android Things. You (Developers) can use familiar tools such as Android Studio and the Android SDK to easily develop IoT software, and then scale the hardware from a single prototype into production. Anyone — from startups to large companies — can build commercial products at scale.
Android Things supports these wide ranging APIs
Awareness
Cast
Google Analytics for Firebase
Firebase Authentication1
Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)
Firebase Crash Reporting
Firebase Realtime Database
Firebase Remote Config
Firebase Storage
Fit
Instance ID
Location
Maps
Nearby
Places
Mobile Vision
SafetyNet
You can use Android Things for Home Automation (Smart Doorbells, Security Systems, Cameras, Gateways, Smart Meters), Enterprises (Point Of Sale, Inventory Control, Vending Machines, Interactive Ads) and Consumer Devices (Asset Tracking). More stuff here!
Since Android Things OS is managed by Google, it’s secure! It has regular security updates and it can be easily shifted from prototype to production. Since it doesn’t support usual inputs from screen, it has alternative and more resourceful inputs to use like GPS, Compass, Audio, Sensors or any other input device! Power of Android Things lies in it’s Android core and have the support to use Google Cloud, Tensor Flow , Play Services, Assistant SDK and Firebase. We can perform Machine learning on the device, we don’t any any cloud to process algorithms for image processing. Also, Java and Kotlin both can be used to build an IoT Device using Android Things.
Android things provide an enormous amount of capabilities to build a new world of devices which can make the community a better place to live.
References
Overview: https://developer.android.com/things/sdk/index.html
Samples and Drivers: https://developer.android.com/things/sdk/samples-drivers.html
Community: https://www.hackster.io/google/products/android-things
