Arduino & Handbag: Create Android Accessories Without Android Code

Have you ever wanted to create a cool new hardware accessory for your Android device? But do you find the thought of writing Android code daunting?

Learning Android development can be overwhelming if you are coming from the much less complex world of Arduino microcontroller development. The Handbag for Android project enables those with only Arduino experience to create accessories for Android devices without writing Android code.

With the announcement of the Android Open Accessory Protocol (AOAP),
Google provided an officially supported way to create Arduino-based
accessories for Android phones and tablets. Unfortunately handling both the Android & Arduino development at once leads to a complex development cycle.

The Handbag library for Arduino—which builds on the Android Open Accessory protocol—allows the user interface and functionality of an accessory to be implemented in an Arduino sketch. When a Handbag-compatible accessory is connected to an Android device the user interface definition is uploaded to the Handbag for Android application which then relays user actions to the Arduino sketch.

Originally designed to help developers with only Arduino experience, now Handbag can also be used to make the initial development of an Android accessory simpler by allowing you to focus on the accessory hardware & software development first.

When you attend you will:

• Gain an overview of how the Android Open Accessory Protocol works.

• Learn which Android devices and software are AOAP-compatible.

• See which Arduino boards and shields are needed to create an accessory.

• Learn about the Arduino libraries you’ll need to install and how
  to use them.

• Gain an overview of the steps needed to develop an AOAP Android app.

• Learn about how the open source Handbag project eliminates the
  need to write Android code and lets you create an accessory with
  only an Arduino sketch.

For attendees of OSCON 2011, Maker Faire: New York and Android Open 2011 this will be an opportunity to learn about the new and updated features in the latest release of Handbag.

This session is presented by the creator of Handbag and the dual-display Nexus One project as seen on Make, Hack a Day and Engadget.

Attend this session and you will learn how to create Android accessories without the need to learn Android development first.

It’s like cheating on your Android accessory development test!