Google controls a large chunk of the smart-devices market, being the company in-charge of Android devices and their Operating Systems. While the company’s status in the industry is clear, their latest announcement is not. Google unveiled its latest OS known as Android Things but many people still fail to understand how the Internet Of Things (IoT) work;

Android Things is an OS compatible with a variety of resources such as connected security cameras, smart thermostats, routers, and speakers. Essentially, this is Android for Internet of Things (IoT); a platform that is capable of building professional, mass-market products on a trusted entity without the need for previous knowledge of the embedded system. IoTs would ordinarily have to be connected via Wi-Fi to a device so that it can be controlled as part of a working system or network.

Originally, Google had announced a similar Operating System named Brillo but that didn’t work too well. It hasn’t been mentioned much, but rather than let it faze out, Google decided to rebrand it to Android Things – with improvements of course. Google’s main focus on Android Things was to provide the ideal solution to make it easier for companies to begin shipping hardware. This is because they will be able to work with the Android dev tools they already know. Google as a company is investing a lot on the platform as it is considered the evolution of Brillo.

Android Things is basically an update and a rebrand. Bear in mind this is a background OS which isn’t as obvious as that in your smartphone. IoThings’ can complete complicated tasks quickly and accurately which are both critical to business success. Although many – by the name Android– would regard Android Things as something you’d run alongside an Android phone, it is best not to think along that line. Android Things devices can be able to integrate with both Android and iOS devices. They manage to communicate through a mechanism known as Weave, which is a related but distinct communications system launched by Google alongside Brillo.

Google has gone further ahead to ensure proper collaboration with a number of hardware manufacturers to offer solutions based on Intel Edison, NXP Pico and the Raspberry Pi 3. This collaboration of king-size companies is to create a smooth upgrade path from development hardware to a large-scale production run. Google’s IoT platforms have for a long time been the on trial-and-error period coming up with various ideas including protocols that didn’t provide the much-needed attention. All credit going to the Android Things team, Google has finally come up with a single yet consolidated approach. So instead of countless competing and overlapping products, this consolidated approach on IoThings’ is obviously good for business.

Android Things is soon coming out of its closed “invite-only” program and will very soon have a public source code release. So if you are interested in Android Things or devices that can utilize it, contact us as soon as possible. We will keep you updated about recent changes so you can be first to benefit from Android Things when it is finally released to the world.

LuminIT