After playing a successful round in the arena of smartphones, Google has ultimately entered the ring of connected devices with its latest development called Android Things. This new platform is specifically designed to meet the growing demands of Internet of Things aka IoT using the past of Android.
“Now any Android developer can quickly build a smart device using Android APIs and Google services while staying highly secure with updates direct from Google,” says Wayne Piekarski, developer advocate for IoT, in a blog post.
Focusing sharply towards IoT is the need of the hour for Google. But instead of bringing a distinct model completely, the Android maker has preferred its existing open source platform.
“We incorporated the feedback from Project Brillo to include familiar tools such as Android Studio, the Android Software Development Kit (SDK), Google Play Services and Google Cloud Platform,” states Piekarski.
Google announced Project Brillo as its initial IoT platform at the I/O developer conference last year. This will now be a part of Android Things.
On the hardware front, Google has partnered with some manufacturers behind innovations such as Intel Edison, NXP Pico and Raspberry Pi 3. This strategic move will enable the device makers to integrate Android Things support into their hardware.
Universal Weave all around
Alongside the latest Android platform for IoT devices, Google has announced an update to its Weave platform. The new release is aimed “to make it easier for all types of devices to connect to the cloud” and enhance existing services such as Google Assistant.
It is worth noting that Google’s Weave is already a part of devices under Philips Hue and Samsung SmartThings lineup. Thus, it is powering not just the hardware that has Android support but many smart devices like light bulbs, smart plugs and switches.
Google is also set to merge Weave with Nest Weave to give developers a unified way to enter the world of IoT.
Developers can access documentation and code samples for Android Things and the updated Weave directly from their respective websites. Moreover, a specific IoT Developers Community is available on Google+ to offer real-time support to the needy ones.
