I just got back from the Linux Foundation’s second Android Builders Summit (ABS) in Redwood City, California, where most of the approximately 250 attendees were hard-core, experienced embedded Linux developers. This was only the second year for ABS, but this two-day conference was packed with great technical sessions that explored the gamut of possibilities for Android today, and for what Android can become as it continues to rapidly evolve.
One of the stand-out themes I heard throughout the two days was that the majority of people felt that Google was really doing a great job with Android. And despite the fact that not all the code is readily accessible and that Android is clearly today designed for mobile and tablet devices, most of the developers I spoke with were still very positive about the opportunities that Android opens up in the embedded systems world.
There were several sessions exploring the use of Android outside of the world of phones and tablets as we know them today. The “Headless Android” session explored using Android without the traditional UI model, while the “Using Android Outside of the Mobile Phone Space” session explored some of the challenges in taking Android to non-phone/tablet devices. While Android offers truly compelling benefits for phone and tablet app developers, the embedded developer still faces significant challenges, which were explored in these and other sessions at the conference.
During Monday’s lightning talks, we heard about some interesting new projects. Karim Yaghmour from Opersys (who also gave the first Monday keynote presentation) introduced a new project called Cyborgstack.org — as he described it, “a truly open, no holds barred Android-based distro.” The goal of this project is to remove all the restrictions and allow developers full access to the entire Android stack. It will be exciting to see what kind of traction this project gets in the coming year (maybe we’ll get an update at ABS next year!).
On day two, I sat in on a “Real-Time Android“ session given by Wolfgang Mauere from Siemens, in which he talked about the need for Android to expand to support real-time processing requirements. In lieu of real-time support today, Siemens has augmented the Android stack to add in RT capabilities, named “Androit.” He presented a demo on a Motorola Zoom tablet to show what could be done with Androit, opening the door for expanding the use of Android to RT applications.
Several sessions discussed the security requirements needed to support stricter applications in the enterprise and in highly regulated industries. We heard from the 3LM guys who started out working on the Google Android team, left Google to focus on “hardening” Android for enterprise use, and were later acquired back into Google through the Motorola Mobility acquisition. They walked through the 3LM solution which addresses the missing major enterprise requirements that Android lacks, including encryption, app control, data protection tools, HW usage policy, location tracking, VPN and device health monitoring. With Google getting 3LM back inside, we should see an enterprise-ready Android soon.
Without a doubt, Android still has a long ways to go to meet the needs of the hard-core embedded systems developer, but it became clear to me during ABS that we are well on the way to identifying where AOSP needs to be augmented and changed, and that this developer audience was not only excited about the possibility, but deeply engaged in the process, with full commitment to make it happen.
