Android has come a long way from being a mobile operating system. Google acquired the company which developed the Android operating system (Android Inc.) in 2005 with an intention to make it a full-fledged mobile operating system. However, if you have followed the Android history, you could see the evolution of Android from just being a mobile phone Operating System to one that caters to multiple devices, ranging from TVs to cars, to even smart bicycles. With Android Things, the plan of Google is to ascertain its foothold within the world of IoT. They could be a managed software package for many devices which comes under the Internet of Things – you could see an amazing list of projects built using Google’s Android Things on its community page at withgoogle.com. In this list, you could see many futuristic products like Robocars to monitoring of air quality using taxis to the Dungeon adventure games.
Below are the major highlights of Android Things:
- It provides a mandatory package and mainly hardware frameworks, needed to develop the IoT that enabled products at scale.
- Android Things is however designed to figure on what we tend to generally want with the Internet of Things (IoT) devices — those connected gadgets that may run even while you don’t control them and connect with the internet.
- You may have some in your own home already as a result of things just like the Nest Thermostat or August Smart Lock as IoT devices.
- With IoT, Google needs to supply a universal OS layer; thus, all of those devices will work a similar method and communicate in similar ways.
- This is an advantage for Google; that if each version runs Android, they need an enormous base for information assortment and ad placement.
- However, it additionally has some advantages for the remainder folks, too.
- For developers, having a ready-built platform that runs on customary hardware and might be programmed a similar method cuts regarding the ninetieth of the assembly time for software package development; Which means lower production prices and easier schedules.
- For shoppers, it implies that all the items we tend to obtain will visit one another and work with each other, with the additional benefit of constitutional privacy and security measures.
- And security in customary IoT devices that never receive any software package updates even once a nasty bug arises could be a huge deal.
The Main Features of Android Things are:
For the Google purpose:
Android has always been able to become another channel for the range of information. This changes Google to understand the user’s behaviour. Thus Google can supply its wide customer base with many and context-based advertisements.
For the businesses:
Android Things might reduce the importance of the growth of IoT apps. Will{} be able to operate the related application that could run on hardware and companies have to construct fresh apps at a high level because of the Android Things framework. This can reduce the overall value and enhance efficiency.
Universal Platform for IoT:
Google, with Android Things, mainly aims to supply the universal platform for application development using IoT. With this, they envision a secure platform that is compatible with all available devices.
Thus, Android Things symbolize a secure web of Things wherever all types of device, these could be connected and are able to work along with the same platform with no compatibility problems.
Support the Guaranteed Hardware:
With the launch of Android Things 1.0, Google would be able to offer its support for the System-on-Modules (SoMs) relied on a wide variety of HW platforms, which includes all the leading hardware including those that built on top of the Qualcomm Home hub.
The System-on-Modules don’t seem to be solely certified for the production use, however, they additionally escort warranted support for 3 years. For the IoT development community, this is of real help as it helps them to facilitate an exceedingly quicker development that too in a trouble-free way.
Tackling the protection challenges:
One in all the most critical issues with any web-connected device is being in a secured environment. With Android Things, we can rest assured that Google is about to handle the protection challenges related to devices connected, through security updates that too regular and an extended-term main strategy for the software package update support.
For Android Developers:
Within the current setup, the responsibility to produce regular security updates to the Android devices is with Google, instead of the developers themselves.
This means as and once a security patch is discharged for an Android, all the devices engaged on AndroidThings can right away receive it. This may eliminate the delay in changing the suitable methods.
Additionally, the developers will focus entirely on development instead of bothering concerning security updates currently so.
How is it going to disrupt IoT?
We have been hearing regarding the web of Things (IoT) for an extended time. The conception of IoT devices: sensible web-connected methods has seen a thumping growth due to the appearance of cheap platforms like Raspberry Pi, Arduino.
Android Things could be a new OS by Google, which will create more straightforward for developers to create IoT products. Android Things is that the latest try by Google to become the number one player within the IoT house and to hurry up the widespread adoption of IoT.
In the case of Industry:
The main advantage of Android Things is its ability to run on a range of IoT devices like security cameras, connected speakers, sensible thermostats, etc. With it, firms will quickly bring the new, life-changing reasonable product to the market.
How works it work?
- Android Things caters to additional sensible IoT devices and may conjointly integrate with Android and iOS devices. Android
- Things are that the successor and a rebranded version of Brillo, associate degree mostly OS that supported Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy, and different Peripherals.
- Brillo used C++ because the primary development setting that has become a bottleneck for developers in building apps.
- Hence to support less complicated devices, Google shifted from Brillo to a brand new advanced version of Android OS referred to as because of the Android.
- Android Things uses the foremost well-liked Android development setting to create it more accessible for Android developers to attach IoT devices.
- Currently, Google has provided its Android Things System pictures for these 3boards: Raspberry Pi3, Intel Edison, and NXP Pico.
- This helps to quickly build sensible connected devices by leverage Android genus APIs and Google’s cloud-based services for delivering updates.
- By leveraging multiple different services within the Google Cloud Platform, new IoT devices will provide method vast amounts of information and may create use of it.
Finally, as concluding with Android Things, Google has dissipated massively on IoT and is attempting to make the most the IoT in-house with its active community of Android developers. Android Things would lead to a unified platform and a far better experience for the buyers.