Why Android? 

One reason, Innovation. The platform is open and is more adapt to the entry level developer.  It has lost almost half of its market share in the past 2 years.  Most of this loss has been claimed by the IOS devices that are currently surging.  Again the question why!?  Again, my answer is innovation.  I don’t have to reinvent the wheel.  The hard work has been done.  It’s a spring board to the IOS platform.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rise of the Sensor Apps

Apps like AndroSensor, WiFi Tracker, and Sensor Log have shed light on the overlooked facet of the smart phones.  These sensor utilizing apps make it possible to use the phone as a data logging device.  The previous quarters were littered with time consuming projects that utilized micro controllers, sensors, data storage devices, and the code to make it work.  The smart phone challenges the old rules of embedded development.  Turn out is faster by putting emphasis on software development for prepacked hardware.   Since most sensors are in place, the software is faster to create and easier to deploy.

Pre requirements for Android development and Install

Install the Java SDK Install, I happened to install jdk-7u51-windows-x64.exe for the quarter.  This is followed by the Android ADK Install, mine is the adt-bundle-windows-x86_64-20140321.zip.  The install on the ADK is really a zip file.  All I did was create a folder on my Windows system and uncompressed the contents of the file to that folder.

Here is were I have to give some credit to those that schooled me up to this point.  Cudo’s to AndroidPreK, XDA Developers, and Jamie Lee Wagner.  These folks provided me with enough detail to get myself in trouble, thank you again!

Creating and running VDM’s

The real benefit of the ADK is the option to test apps out on virtual devices.  This makes the process of debugging less obtrusive and quicker to resolve.  I’ve got a few android phones that I can test out.  The VDM’s can’t do it all.  This is especially true when it comes to sensors.

Challenges

I made many attempts and had many faults while installing, developing packages, and deploying to the devices.  I knew it could be done and this gave me the will to go on.  Having the experience with object programming lessened the pain considerably.  The wonders of copy and paste shine through.

Odds and Ends

Pedestrian Dead Reckoning Enables Indoor Navigation Without WiFi (Article Here)

WiFi Mapping Software: Footprint (Article Here), using Inverse distance weighting.