Introduction to Android Things Customization

Android Things, Google’s embedded operating system for IoT devices, offers a streamlined approach to building connected hardware. While its pre-built images provide a solid foundation, many advanced IoT projects demand a level of customization that goes beyond simply installing APKs. From integrating proprietary hardware drivers to modifying core system services or optimizing resource usage for specific applications, understanding and manipulating the Android Things build system is crucial for creating truly tailored and robust IoT solutions. This deep dive will dissect the underlying architecture, guiding you through the process of setting up your build environment, syncing the source code, and creating highly customized Android Things OS images.

Understanding the Android Things Build System

The Android Things build system is a sophisticated amalgamation, drawing heavily from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) while incorporating specific layers for IoT functionality and hardware abstraction.

AOSP Foundation

At its core, Android Things leverages the vast and mature AOSP. This means the fundamental build tools, makefiles, and directory structure are familiar to anyone who has worked with custom Android ROMs. Key components like the Linux kernel, Android runtime (ART), system services, and many core libraries are inherited directly from AOSP, providing a robust and well-tested base.

Board Support Packages (BSPs)

Unlike standard Android, Android Things relies heavily on Board Support Packages (BSPs) provided by hardware manufacturers (e.g., NXP, Qualcomm). These BSPs contain hardware-specific drivers, kernel configurations, bootloaders, and device trees that enable Android Things to run optimally on a particular SoC and board. When you build an Android Things image, you’re essentially compiling the AOSP framework on top of a selected BSP.

Android Things Specifics

Google’s additions for Android Things primarily involve specialized framework services and APIs designed for IoT scenarios, such as the Peripherals API, user-space drivers, and specific boot-time behaviors. The build system integrates these components, ensuring that the resulting image is optimized for embedded, often headless, operation and can be managed via the Android Things Console.

Setting Up Your Build Environment

Building Android Things requires a powerful Linux machine with significant storage and RAM.

Prerequisites

• Operating System: Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (recommended) or later.
• CPU: Multi-core processor (8 cores or more recommended).
• RAM: 16 GB or more.
• Storage: At least 250 GB free disk space (SSD highly recommended for speed).
• Java Development Kit (JDK): OpenJDK 8.
• Python: Python 2.7 or 3.x.
• Git: Latest version.
• Repo: Google’s repository tool.
• Required Libraries: Essential build tools and libraries.

Install essential packages on Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y git-core gnupg flex bison build-essential zip curl zlib1g-dev gcc-multilib g++-multilib libc6-dev-i386 libncurses5 lib32ncurses5-dev x11proto-core-dev libx11-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libxml2-utils xsltproc fontconfig openjdk-8-jdk python

Configure Git:

git config --global user.name

        
        
        

            

                
            
            

                
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