[Q] USB Port Access - Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]

Hello there dear Android devs!
I have a question about the USB port.
Do any of you have any information whether it's possible to use the USB port manually with an app with Android? I have an idea that needs access to a hardware interface that needs to be connected directly to the Android device..
I might be able to use the bluetooth connection, but that would involve a lot more hardware development, and I'd rather avoid that.
So my question is, do you know any way for an app to use the Mini USB port with an external hardware interface?
Hope you have some good news
//Enslave
Edit: If you have any information if this would be possible on WP7 or iPhone, I'd appreciate hints to that too, but I'd rather use Android to be honest

Sorry to bump this, but surely someone must have some information?
I really wanna get this app off the ground! And it's gonna be something really really cool when it's done.. If it's possible that is ^^

Related

[Q] How to communicate with custom made hw board?

Hi Xda developers,
I might get involved in project during internship, where they want me to find way how to connect android device to custom made proprietary radio transmitter-receiver board without bluetooth or wifi, so it has to be direct wired connection.
This radio transmitter-receiver board has its own microchips and firmware so all low level work and functions will be done in this board alone.
Does anyone has idea how this could be done? is it possible to write some drivers (probably C) to communicate with this board over micro usb port present in all android devices? And than how could be data received over radio used in basic java-android application installed on device? (could this be done with use of a binary/text file as a link between these two programs?)
Thanks in advance
If nobody knows or has time to answer my questions, please give me some tips where to start searching for answers (websites, books, magazines .... )
Is it essential to learn Linux architecture properly before modifying anything in android?

[Q] Some advice on choosing a flexible tablet for research purposes

Hi all,
I'm looking for a tablet which is going to act as the user interface for my research project, but the technical nature means that I have some particular requirements which are pretty much impossible to ascertain from reviews or even some serious Google-fu. As there seem to be a number of experts in this forum I figured some people here might be able to lend some advice...
My main issue is that I need robust, ideally wired communication with a PC - presumably via USB. I have read that USB connections are possible with Android but I get conflicting reports about how easy it is, and no real information on the bandwidth of such a connection. Has anyone had any experience with this? I need to be streaming real-time images to the tablet, would this be suitable?
This sort of leads on to a second issue which is that it would really be preferable, from a development point of view, to have it running a Linux distro. I am wondering whether this might make USB connectivity easier, but again this information is very hard to come by. So, does anyone know of a tablet which I can put Ubuntu on and have full access to the USB port? Again, any sort of information or experience would be greatly appreciated.
As it's not my money I'm spending I really need to be sure that this will do what I want in advance, so any advice in general about doing this would be fantastic.
Thanks in advance
-Rob
Honeycomb 3.1 is a solid operating system which will be able to perform the actions you listed. However, steaming data seamlessly will require a device with suitable RAM and processor speed. One nice feature with android devices is the ability to overclock the processor. If you choose to go with android honeycomb a good device would be the Xoom or Acer
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
Intersting, thanks, I'd not seen that. It looks like this ticks off Android 3.1 as a suitable platform, in which case my final question is whether anyone knows of a tablet which can have a native Ubuntu installation, with full access to the USB, display device etc. It would be the ideal situation from a development point of view.
Thanks again.

How do I begin developing an app that controls my computer?

Hi guys,
I am new to app development and I have seen a lot of articles about apps that control the computer, but how would I actually go about making one? It doesn't need to be over Wifi either; it just has to be able to do basic keyboard actions over USB.
- Adam
Bump. Anyone know where I could start?
Start with c+ and toss in a little Java coding.
amarcott11 said:
Bump. Anyone know where I could start?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You haven't even described what platform you're writing said app for.
Android apps are mostly Java... The rest, I dunno. MS is probably dotNET, apple is... objective C I think?
Sorry for the lack of information. All I know so far is I have Eclipse and ADT (I am developing an Android app). I understand XML and how to develop the GUI, but when it comes to making the app communicate with a computer, I don't have a clue where to begin or how to do it.
Any tips or guidelines on tools to use or how to start are appreciated.
amarcott11 said:
Sorry for the lack of information. All I know so far is I have Eclipse and ADT (I am developing an Android app). I understand XML and how to develop the GUI, but when it comes to making the app communicate with a computer, I don't have a clue where to begin or how to do it.
Any tips or guidelines on tools to use or how to start are appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By having a server program running on your computer which accepts data you send from your android.
If you want it to be difficult, do it over usb, the easy way would be wifi.
Check up on "sockets".
Thanks for the reply. The only problem is, I need it to have very fast response time. I would like it to be as similar to a USB keyboard as possible, so I don't think WiFi would work. What makes doing it over USB difficult?
Do you have the server side app already? what exactly are you trying to control on your computer?
It doesn't matter what I'm controlling, I just want to be able to get my app to send information that a server side program can take and be able to keyboard map.
So I'll need to code with C++ for the server side and java for the app itself?
Plus, from what I've read, I've learned that the Android platform doesn't support USB hosting. Is this true? I've seen ways around it but it seems pretty cryptic.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
There already is one that is apart of the android market and you can even use it on another computer It's called Team viewer not sure if this would help you or not, but I liked it when I needed to use it.
You can do app development on a pc emeulator instead of your phone (if thats what your asking) and Google App Inventor is great, but servers are closing soon. So goodluck!
Yeah I would start looking up about c+, c++, and java coding.... goodluck
I appreciate the help. Ryan1918, I have used Teamviewer myself, but I am looking to develop more of a controller, as opposed to a remote desktop app.
amarcott11 said:
Thanks for the reply. The only problem is, I need it to have very fast response time. I would like it to be as similar to a USB keyboard as possible, so I don't think WiFi would work. What makes doing it over USB difficult?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both can be done with java and if you program it right and the wifi signal is good you shouldnt have much of a delay.
It will be difficult to use the USB as a network interface for your application.
Using TCP/IP or UDP over Wifi will be much much easier.
I don't mean to ignore what you're saying about WiFi, but I strongly believe that for the market this app will be directed toward, USB will be necessary. I don't feel comfortable giving away my idea, but just know that my goal is to make the responsiveness virtually seamless if it is at all possible.
I will test it out with WiFi first, but in case I don't get the results I'm looking for, can you expand a little more on USB?
Will it only be hard for me on the developing side, or will the consumer have to also put in extra effort to get it to work over USB (installing other apps, rooting, etc.)? If I was to develop the app around USB, I would want it to be easy to set up if I did all the coding right.
From my continued research, I have found a few articles in the following links that might be leading me in the right direction:
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/usb/accessory.html
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/hardware/usb/UsbManager.html
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5848876/java-sockets-transmission-in-real-time
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4762620/sending-simple-commands-from-android-through-usb
I don't have much expertise in the area, i just took a quick google shot at it and it showed from some forum posts and questions, that doing it through usb is not the easiest way.

[Q] Wifi Internet Rerouting to Computer

Hello everyone. I am an enthusiast on custom software hacks on Android and various other platforms. I know this question has been asked, but read to the end first before you answer.
What if you didn't want to use your device's data connection to tether your computer because you have available wifi, but no wireless card on your computer?
Is it possible to use your phone as your computer's wifi receiver?
And finally, would it be possible to bring this solution to both PC's and Macs alike? I know a solution exists for windows, and I ask this because I have a "Mac" as my primary system.
Thank you in advance for any help and solutions this community can provide.
I'm sure this is possible software and hardware-wise, but why? Don't they have little USB->Wifi adapters for around $20 usd?
Well, yes. But the point is to make the most out of the available hardware.
Don't get me wrong; I will probably go out and buy an adapter soon anyways. My understanding is that OSX has built-in compatibility with most adapters already.

Anyone know about USB Dev?

Hi,
Android Dev Noob and just looking at the SDK I have this question which probably someone will be able to tell be straight away.
I want to relay USB Host port data to a USB accessory port.
I am looking at the USB Host APIs >= Andriod 3.1
What I want to do is be able to relay the keyboard, mouse and touchscreen that I have connected on the host port and relay that to the OTG.
So here is my noob questions before I waste loads of time.
1... Is it possible to create device manifests on the fly.
I was thinking I could just make devices connected on the host appear as if they are on the accessory port.
If not then I guess I could create some default manifests and pick the most relevant.
2... This is hardware related but many tablets and android boxes have separate usb host & otg ports?
It is possible to have a host and accessory going at the same time.
This might makes things a little easier as the rationale is that I have a windows 8 machine and an RK3288 android box and I want to share the keyboard, mouse and touchscreen.
Video is easy as I can just swap the input between pc & hdmi.
I was thinking if I plugged all my devices into android I could just have a hot Key to redirect to windows 8 or don't capture and use devices on android.
I thought it might be a much simpler way without network needs and have read there are gesture problems with KVM products such as Synergy.
What do you think is it possible, does anyone know if this has already been done and there is an app?
Also if you have any better ideas or some pointers where to start all will be welcome.
Many Thanks
Stuart

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