Android Things on Odroid boards?

[gxa]

I believe that the recently announced Android Things is an interesting development for IoT enthusiasts. The SDK is the same as for "normal" Android, and there is already a decent set of example code on github: https://github.com/androidthings

However it seems that Google wants to keep the platform more in-house and hence only releases binary images for a limited choice of hardware, not including any Odroid boards at this time: https://developer.android.com/things/ha ... -kits.html

I think it would be great if Hardkernel took the initiative to be included. Judging by the listed boards, Android Things is demanding on hardware, however the high-end Odroids, such as XU4 or C2 should be able to handle it.

Any comments or thoughts?

[crashoverride]

Any comments or thoughts?

Odroids already run the full Android. What benefit does a strip down, limited (crippled) version of Android provide?

The RPi ppl are disappointed because they thought there were getting a full Android port and only got "Things". Its the same level of disappointment when they thought they were getting Windows 10 and only got "Windows 10 IoT".

"Things" is more of an Arduino competitor. Its meant for devices that are too limited to support the full Android stack. Other than the novelty, or educational interest, I do not see a business reason to invest time or money into bringing it to Odroids. That is not to say that a community member would not do it once (if) source code is available.

If there is some benefit it provides that I "don't get", please feel free to point it out. I am not "anti-Things". I just think there are better uses of time and money. Google, of course, is free to support Odroids should they choose.

This is my personal opinion. I wont flame anyone that disagrees with it.

[gxa]

This is my personal opinion. I wont flame anyone that disagrees with it.

Hey, no problem, I intended to start a conversation here

I guess my main point is that there is life outside Ubuntu and stock Android which may not be the best choice for certain (e.g. "things") applications. There is definitely a (market) value in being in the first wave of new software developments, especially in combination with the superior hardware Hardkernel supplies. That said, maybe they have reached a different assessment. In this particular case, it is clear that community-driven development is not an option (at least for now), hence my question.

What benefit does a strip down, limited (crippled) version of Android provide?

It is also good to clarify that it would be gross oversimplification to see the IoT operating systems as a "crippled" version of the corresponding desktop versions. Android Things has its own merits (additional APIs, security layers, Weave protocol support) over stock Android. Win 10 IoT Core is also whole lot more complicated story, but it has its own thread, so let's not discuss it here

"Things" is more of an Arduino competitor. Its meant for devices that are too limited to support the full Android stack.

On the contrary. If you check the supported boards, those are quite the top of their corresponding product line. Just like the XU4 or C2.

[elatllat]

Additional APIs are those that would come with any dev board anyway (GPIO, PWM, I2C, SPI, UART).

I did not see any additional security layers.

The 'Weave protocol' offers NLP but not exclusively, and a dashboard in the cloud.

That's not offering any aditional features IMO.

[crashoverride]

On the contrary. If you check the supported boards, those are quite the top of their corresponding product line. Just like the XU4 or C2.

The supported boards are all very low-end products compared to Xu4/C2.
https://developer.android.com/things/ha ... -kits.html

The Intel® Edison compute module includes a dual-core x86 CPU running at 500 MHz, a 100Mhz MCU, 1GB of memory

The Pico SoM provides an ARM® Cortex-A7 Core, 512MB of memory

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B provides a quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 CPU running at 1.2GHz, 512MB of memory

[yes, it really claims 512MB of memory for Pi3]

[tobetter]

https://magazine.odroid.com/article/android-things/