Need general help. Please just read. - Hardware Hacking General

Hey all the good people at XDA. I have an idea and the potential parts to make this work. Think of it like a Google Glass ( another glass concept ) but for the combat Infantrymen. We wear eye protection already and put some crazy stuff on our helmets. We get shot at and we shoot back.
This is where I and trying to help.
The concept:
Being able to know and many rounds you have fired.
able to tell distance, direction and elevation the shots originating from.
Able to tell what round was fired.
The hardware:
Will be tested on Oakley M frames. I am drafting up at the moment.
Small screen on either eye but supposed to be your non firing eye.
there will be small mics around the helmet. This is what will give direction.
There will be a small shock sensor and mic to give an accurate round count.
What I want to try to use:
I have an electronic viewfinder screen from an old digital camera. that's what I will look up to. I have the orignal PCB that I know has the TI DPS. I think it has whatever display chip on the board as well. Basically I tore a kodak easyshare z710. I don't know what firmware type is it. Maybe Linux but I don't know.
Can I get some help on this. Is a little near and dear lol.
Sent from my Nexus 7

I don't actually understand what kind of help you need. Do you need hardware or software help? And if you plan on an endeavor such as this how do you plan to obtain funding?
Please give a thanks if you think this post helped you!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 Mobile App .

can you elaborate it a bit more,seriously I could not make out where you need help

I'm sorry guys, I think my sleep meds started kicking in and I just zone out.
Basically I want to make a small projector with the hardware provided to project an image onto the lens of my Oakley eye pro. The mobo in the camera has some sort of OS. I don't know what it is (I would think Unix of some sort).
There is more to it, but the hardest things is getting the projector work right and have control from a smartphone.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

So what do you need from us? I'm confused...
Please give a thanks if you think this post helped you!
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Premium 4 Mobile App .

It sounds like the basic concept is there. I'm guessing you are looking for technical help to make this a practical reality.
So far I see that you have most of the sensors planned out:
-shock sensor
-mics
And the output:
-LCD from the camera
But it seems to me you need a microcontroller somewhere in there. You could use an Atmega (the kind Arduino boards use) or Microchip (probably 18f series) or AVR. I'm sure there are others. Depending on your level experience you may decide to go with Arduino (which are a little more expensive (usually $15+) then the others but includes it's own programmer (assuming you get one that has the USB on the board) and are easy to program (Arduino IDE has lots of code examples)) or you can go for a more low level one like a Microchip 18f4550 ($5) for example and program in C (I think this costs) or assembly (free) but you'll need to understand registers and some of the lower level aspects to microcontrollers (however there are free very in depth datasheets that will give you all the information (you'll just need a few months to digest it).
Those are just some ideas, this projects sounds quite awesome though. It may take you a 6 month to year to do though.

Related

android usb interface unit.

Hi all
Sorry I cant even think of the correct tittle for this thread, I literally have no words to explain what I am looking for, so just read and hopefully you can understand.
Machine --> Interface Unit --> Android device
so there are several machines give you their status by turning on/off lights. Think of a electric stove, it tells you what surfaces are hot by turning on a light. I want to display that light on a android device. I am sure there is a already made interface device that can receive this signal and allow the android device to know about it.
the interface should be able to read voltage also.
so it would go something like this
for instance a stove
you turn on the stove, there is some kind of temperature sensor. say the sensor give a voltage between 0 and 5 volts. 0 been the surface is off and 5 been stove at its 500º (say that's the highest). I would give this signal to some kind of interface unit, then the android device would be able to read the interface unit and display the temperature. Same would go for a status light etc.
is there anything like this out there?
You mean something like Ardunio?
http://www.arduino.cc/
http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardADK
It's a microcontroller board with USB host capabilities. And HoneyComb (as of 3.1) has an API to work with it. It's usually used for prototyping.
Or are you looking for something else?
oops forgot a link:
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/usb/adk.html
yeah I think that's what I would need.
what board should I buy. I probably need 10 inputs. Most are just lights, some are some kind of meter like the temp meter I described above.
Do you think arduino would be the easiest to program?
thanks for the links. once I pick a board what guide should I follow to get me started in what I want to do?
This is pretty much as far as my knowledge on the subject can take you heh, sorry. This is one of those thing I have been meaning to learn myself.
I do think you can buy that basic board from that site, and that is what the Google ADK is designed to work with.
Hopefully some other XDAers will know more
yeah I feel like your avatar right now hahaha. hopefully all the experience people could throw me in the right direction.
I am going to start a new thread as this would be a completely different topic.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=17211271#post17211271
Awesome, good luck, and definitely let us know how it goes, keep us updated
Maybe look at the "Propeller" chips and also the "basic stamp". If you don't know what they are google the names. The language is pbasic, its a pretty simple coding language. I don't know how in-depth your device will be. These may get you headed in the right direction.
Sent from my COS-DS using XDA App
fyca said:
Maybe look at the "Propeller" chips and also the "basic stamp". If you don't know what they are google the names. The language is pbasic, its a pretty simple coding language. I don't know how in-depth your device will be. These may get you headed in the right direction.
Sent from my COS-DS using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I looked those up and found it was about the same price, $50 and up. it was a little harder to know what i need, I dont really know how/if they would work with android. If you know which would work please let me know.
What do you think would be easy to learn pbasic or arduino?
I am not going too in depth with this, exactly what my post said is all i am doing.
for the temp display, what would do the actual processing? the board receiving the info then translating it into degrees and android reading it and displaying it? or android receiving the info from the board then translating into degrees and displaying it?
the reason i ask is because i have to find something that can handle the processing, frankly i don't know the min specs i should be looking for.
Think the board handles most of the processing (you basically flash a program onto the controller chip.) But you can do it either way.
I'm doing a "Open University" Course that uses a "Ardunio" like board.
I can't wait to see if i can get it working via my Android ^_^
s0litaire said:
Think the board handles most of the processing (you basically flash a program onto the controller chip.) But you can do it either way.
I'm doing a "Open University" Course that uses a "Ardunio" like board.
I can't wait to see if i can get it working via my Android ^_^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let em know what you end up doing.
Instill need help finding what I need.
It will be 2 weeks our so before I get my hands on the board.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

Android Automation Project [WiP]

Android Interactive Multitouch Table and Automation Project
Hi all!,
let me start by saying if this thread is in the wrong section please by all means let me know (It is starting with a question but will eventually come to host something more).
Now that that's out of the way, I am currently working on a multitouch table, one which will directly interface with android devices and after doing so allow full control via a special app to a multitude of cool things such as :
- automated door locking and unlocking
- media controls
- powering on and off certain household objects
- other random things using arduinos and android controls
- control of phone functions via the table
I've already built most of the table, and have a basis which I'm using as a starting point for the other things (I have no intention to ever profit from this i just want to make something really cool and share ideas / experience). Please be patient while I do the initial updates and postings and what not here (as its really late right now and im also a college student / part time developer) . I will break this up as follows:
POST 2: section to be updated about the table and my knowledge / tidbits involving such
POST 3: section to be updated about app functions and my experiences / info regarding such
Post 4: random automation info / arduino adventures
SO long story short on top of the above I have the following question: how do i send an intent from my special app to other peoples ( I think they have to be set to do so?)
The Multitouch Table
The Multitouch Table itself has a 2 foot x 4 foot surface. The frame was constructed using several 2x3 's and compressed board to enclose it.
Basis for the table is this:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/maximum_pc_builds_a_multitouch_surface_computer
The Surface
The surface is a 2 ft x 4 ft sheet of tempered glass, tempered glass because I was told it was amazingly strong and from my experiences relatively close in price to the acrylic and plexi I was looking at.
The Multitouch
The multitouch aspect of the table is powered by 4 infrared lasers and a modified playstation eye. (details soon to come)
The Lasers:
4x 780nm 25mW modules
chosen for this project at the advising of some friends who built a similar table as well as several people on the web
obtained from: http://www.aixiz.com/store/index.php/cPath/61
The Camera:
From my understanding you can use any usb webcam, however for the price the playstation eye gives the biggest bang for your buck (its not that expensive either).
Be careful when buying one, apparently some of them don't allow for the IR filter to be removed. If you are really worried you can buy pre modified lenses for 2 bucks.
useful site for camera supplies:
http://peauproductions.com/store/
To learn how to remove the IR filter from your PS Eye use the google
Misc. Internals
The Projector:
I obtained some front facing mirrors and heat absorbing glass to help with throw distance. A good enough projector wont need mirrors but it really depends on what distance you want. Mine was covered but I got a mirror so i had alot to work with.
Mirrors and Heat Absorbing Glass:
http://www.surplusshack.com/
Acer X1230PS:
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-X1230PS-DLP-Projector/dp/B0036RBHT2
The Computer:
To run the table I have used an old machine of mine in a micro atx case.
You could use a less powerful machine but mine has the following.
2.4 ghz Quad Core
4 gbs DDR 2
a simple graphics card
More Coming Soon....
The APP
A basis for the app is there, trying to put in intents for other apps to signal user choice of remotes.
Coming Soon....
Arduino Adventures
Ideas:
- Door lock/unlocker
- light controls
- electronics power on/off
Coming Soon....
Sounds good!

Setting up LCD with Android

I'm just looking to be pointed in the right general direction here.
How would I go about hooking up an LCD and touch panel to an Android board (Raspberry PI or something similar). This is for an embedded device.
Something like a Hannstar HSD062IDW1
sbarrow said:
I'm just looking to be pointed in the right general direction here.
How would I go about hooking up an LCD and touch panel to an Android board (Raspberry PI or something similar). This is for an embedded device.
Something like a Hannstar HSD062IDW1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, most of these ARM dev boards have raw LCD headers. If you're an electronics designer then you can go design a PCB to do things like level shift those bits and maybe convert those parallel signals to something else (LVDS or HDMI or watever). But from what I understand, you already have a video out in the form of HDMI and svideo. Some of us here at ArcDatum have done embedded systems research on a whole bunch of ARM boards (BeagleBoard, Pandaboard, the obscure ODROID-X) and almost all of them should have LCD headers. As for touch screens, that's more difficult. Chances are you'll have to use GPIOs or find a screen with HDMI input and USB output for touch sensing. Otherwise you'll have to design an touch screen input/output driver (which actually isn't that hard once you know how.....finding out how is the difficult part since so many of the chips they use have little or no documentation).
You might be in luck with iPhone screens. I personally have heard rumors of people reverse engineering the screen signals and driving them.
Edit: So i looked at your Hannstar link. Looks like you have a 10.5V LED backlight. So u'll have to drive that separately; that's easy enough. As for the actual signals. Looks like the pinouts you have all the RGB 8bit per color channels as well as your power stuff, ground stuff, and your clock inputs all of which can come from either your LCD header on ur RPi (if it has one; i know the BeagleBoard-XM has them) or an external power supply (for Vcc etc). Note you should tie all grounds together in many cases. As for the other random signals you will have to figure out if they're necessary to connect to something (Even if it's ground) or if you can leave them floating. Watch out for your voltage levels and how much current the RGB signals on the display will sink. Likely case is you have to do a level shift from something like 1.8V logic to 3.3V logic or something like that. When you're picking your IC to do that level shifting, also be very aware that the IC has to be able to change from 0 to 3.3V fast enough. You will have to verify that within one clock cycle, the slew rate of every pin (aka each bit for the RGB channels) is high enough to change from a high value to low or vice versa before the next clock edge comes along. If not you're data will be considered corrupt or just completely invalid.
Edit2: Your title states that you're trying to make this work with Android. I think in fact you are trying to drive the LCD with the System on a Chip on the RPi. Depending on the SoC and kernel, you might have to enable the LCD header pinouts in the kernel. Don't quote me on this though. I could be totally bull****ting you. My GUESS is that the same signals that go to the HDMI chip go to the header and in fact when using the header, you're just pulling the logic of those same signal lines (which also means you have to be extra careful of the current you're sourcing from those lines)
I wish to understand your motivation.
There are plenty of cheap Android tablets available with LCD touch screen. Now instead of trying to use one of these you want to get inferior "WhateverBerry" and engineer LCD interface + software stack etc spending your time and money.
Am I correct describing your intention?
Also I am not sure that Android is a good fit for embedded development which is mostly applied to some type of real-time controllers. It is not real-time OS.
If your want to build quickly an embedded controller with LCD touch you can get it done using Arduino boards. There are few LCD modules with touch capabilities available but with very poor documentation. It will require some work but it is feasible to achieve in a few days. It would cost you about $100 in components including Arduino and LCD shield and software is free.
Good luck!
sbarrow said:
I'm just looking to be pointed in the right general direction here.
How would I go about hooking up an LCD and touch panel to an Android board (Raspberry PI or something similar). This is for an embedded device.
Something like a Hannstar HSD062IDW1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adapt0r said:
I wish to understand your motivation.
There are plenty of cheap Android tablets available with LCD touch screen. Now instead of trying to use one of these you want to get inferior "WhateverBerry" and engineer LCD interface + software stack etc spending your time and money.
Am I correct describing your intention?
Also I am not sure that Android is a good fit for embedded development which is mostly applied to some type of real-time controllers. It is not real-time OS.
If your want to build quickly an embedded controller with LCD touch you can get it done using Arduino boards. There are few LCD modules with touch capabilities available but with very poor documentation. It will require some work but it is feasible to achieve in a few days. It would cost you about $100 in components including Arduino and LCD shield and software is free.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this, for the most part. Although theres no reason his application wouldnt be better with Android. What if theyre making some sort of consumer friendly appliance. Android wud be a great place to start. Arduinos wud be good for tiny applications but if they want anything pretty it wont have enough horse power.
Also Im not sure how RTOS fits into this. Sure Android isnt an RTOS, but ur phone is Android and thats an embedded system too. Just because it isnt deterministic doesnt mean it isnt suited for embedded. Just go look at basically any of the Texas Instruments ARM based android/linux dev boards.
Anyway back to the topic at hand. If you want a high powered device then try a BeagleBoard with a third party LCD attachment. It wont be cheap, you would basically have an android tablet only itd be for development (and I mean product development, not just software development). But if you dont need 700+mghz of 32 bit addressing lol, then yes go with a much cheaper arduino and lcd.
Edit: Look at this, I think you'll like it (its an all in one ARM development board):
e2e.ti.com/group/universityprogram/educators/w/wiki/2252.am335x-starter-kit.aspx?sp_rid_pod4=MTk2NzAwNDYzODgS1&sp_mid_pod4=40798754
Also I should clarify Arduinos are a 'cheaper' solution, not a 'cheap' solution. Arduinos are not cheap for the amount of processing power u get and they are almost never suited for LCD applications (but there are a few).
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
I am glad to have this discussion, it helps to clarify choices we make and avoid waste of time.
RTOS is needed if high rate data acquisition is the core application. If time uncertainty of Android apps execution is tolerable then it might be a good choice considering great UI and communication capabilities.
A number of projects utilize commercial Android hardware with external Bluetooth or USB accessory/ host. In this configuration external accessory acquires and stores data in a buffer, Android terminal reads this data buffer and then does data processing and visualization if necessary.
This combination looks the most efficient since it provides great flexibility with minimal resources.
Low price of Raspberry PI and good marketing attracted a lot of people but usability of this board is very limited. You get what you paid for. It is underpowered for modern Linux and Android, does not have ADC, not suitable for low power (battery) applications. Originally, its main purpose was declared to make learning of programming languages more accessible.
Cheers!
screen
hello Folks,
i even have a broken tablet, but the touchscreen is still ok.
and i still have a samsung wave s8500 with broken screen but it still running.
is there any solution how i can connect the 7 inch screen with the wave?
the 7 inch screen is a mid tablet dropad/haipad.
is there any link to hardware manuall..
and where can i get the driver of the mid?
thanks in advance
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7" to LCD
is ther anyone trying connect samsung galaxy tab 2 7" to LCD
or it is imposible.... (

ARA/Phonebloks doomed from the start?

I have been somewhat following the whole Phonebloks and ARA scene, participating in the Dscout missions, and generally have to say that there is a lot of buzz and hype with very little meat behind it. The general populace is thinking legos, colors, fancy shmancy materials, and other appearance related nonsense. There seems to be very little technical content, and the majority of the crowd seems to be lured by key words such as "eco", "reusable", "repairable", "customizable" and so on.
Certainly, in terms of driving sales, this is good attention, something Motorola needs.
The downside, however, seems to be that people do not understand how things work, have no patience for it, and want things to "just work."
I highly doubt that this will be something that is user friendly out of the box.
The biggest misconception seems to be that you will be able to build anything you want out of this. If this idea is not curbed, this project will fail. People will become disappointed. Already they seem to think that they can have an espresso maker and a telescope added to the thing.
On top of it all, Motorola has a track record of taking good ideas and executing them poorly. Think Atrix lapdock.
So what is the clear mission of this project?
Ease of repair? That can already be done using current production methods. Look at the iPhone vs Galaxy series in terms of screen replacement. Its night and day.
Reusing parts? What could you reuse from an iPhone 4 when building a 5s? The headphone jack? Batteries die, radios, memory, sensors, processors, become old news by the time they hit the assembly line, and screens evolve at a fast pace.
There is no mention of a core device with expansion bays, the project seems to suggest you could swap all basic components on the fly. This is nonsense. Is it really worth taking steps back to make separate little bricks for Bluetooth, Wifi, NFC, GSM radio, etc., when current production methods can squeeze these into a single system-on-chip design at a fraction of the cost?
Imagine for a minute if Googorola took the Moto X approach to hardware: You log into your Motomaker account, and at checkout you pick your options. 3 choices of screen size, 3 choices of processors, 3 choices of storage capacity, an 8, 13, or 16 Mpix camera, 3 different battery capacities, cdma, gsm, or global radio, etc., then once you select your hardware, you customize the case colors, and you're done.
I know this rant is way into the TL;DR territory, but there are other factors to consider, perhaps profitability being paramount. Open source phone, with open source modules, etc. How will Motorola make $ on this? How long till knock off modules hit the market? What is the pricing scheme, etc.
I would love to get a serious discussion going, touching on some of the things I brought up.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
I wouldn't say they're doomed from the start but their social network app and stuff seems pretty gimmicky to me. I definitely think that modular phones are in the future but they need to spend more time talking about the actual hardware and open sourcing drivers and stuff instead of their weird Instagram clone in my opinion. I'm still staying optimistic if they don't do it someone else will.
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Nice idea, but people here at xda would have a nightmare with such a thing, meaning rom development for every and each component combination.......
Lets ask ourselves, when would it be appropriate or papamount to upgrade a hardware component of any of our phones now? The reasoning now is more like, 'it would be cool if we could'. I cant think of any necessary reason now for needing to change harware unless it needs repair. I believe necessity should be a starting point for this whole concept. Necessity often drives truly good design.
I personally think that this would be good because of the fact that technology advances at such a rapid pace that being able to upgrade your components when a better version comes out would be good. Obviously there would be some compatibility issues between some parts that would be unavoidable. It would be more for the person who wants the high end device. Take me for example, I have the S4 and I love it but next year when the S5 comes out it wouldn't be the latest and greatest and I can't upgrade for two years. I could love a Moto X but I don't wanna pay the off contract price for it. So I think this is the only time it would be good and efficient, not a huge game changer but a slight game changer.
Also about the knock off or cheap parts, if they have the drivers and protocols open source than it shouldn't be to big of an issue, not anymore than buying a knock off replacement screen. Still something to look out for when buying modules.
I think that the idea from Phoneblocks or Ara are really good but I think that the project will prospere
Project Ara.
Being a modular design, brings complications, but with those complications comes new opportunities in the hardware section as well as the software side of the development.
The metric is quite valid and tangible, even more so today, wth the manufacturing techniques available, this idea actually makes far more sense than feeding the giant a steady diet of the same old thing.
You save money if all you require is a modified version of the RF section, you install that block.
The same goes for the remainder of the phone, easy upgrading, no downtime, and lower overall cost for the entire market, not to mention the lowering of landfill garbage from dumped devices that could not be upgraded.
The engineering end of this is wonderful, I wish it arrived years ago. A 'Lego-Phone' you build and upgrade as you need to, no more buying an aircraft carrier, when all you require is a shuttle.
We can finally drive the market, provide for ourselves, push manufacturers in the direction we need them to head, instead of driving us with their own thoughts on what is necessary.
I don't use much in the way of media, so anything more than 720P is of little use, but I do appreciate an HDMI-type format screen.
The RF section is far more important to my needs, and of course, a micro-SD card slot.
I prefer a sensitive front end, high dynamic range, and a superbly augmented IP3(third intercept point) as a basis for my receiver design.
I have grown tired of matchbox quality RF systems, and when in poor signal areas, or in a heavily wooded area with sparse cell tower penetration, i prefer my phone have the ability to connect with a site even if the RSSI indicates no signal, at least a data channel should be able to 'hear' a short text message for help if sent.
If the phone can't hear well, it can't talk well, either.
Most subscribers assume that cell signals are routed through the power lines*!*
I have had customers that actually said this...But this is the basis of my most desired and important 'want', a solid RF system, receiver and transmitter section that works!
High density areas have few problems with dropped calls, if the site loading is low, but in rural areas, loading is not an issue, it's accessibility, and sites spaced 10 miles apart, can actually have users drop calls even near by, due to dense foliage or hilly/mountainous terrain, even though the tower is within eyesight, you still drop a call. This is where fresnel zones come into play, and where a good RF section makes the difference.
If you think rain kills RF signals, see my pic I just snapped from my door, of the trees filled with heavy snow!
Poorly designed RF systems can't decode signals properly, the B.E.R suffers, causing message failures, call time-outs as well as just lousy QOS due to noise, echoing, raspy speech processing and a host of other problems.
The memory subsystems are important, as well as the GPU and video systems, but you can still make a call if the video drops, not so much if the RF section dies.
We all have our own desires, as well as what is most important to our needs, but overall, i do believe that project Ara is a great step in the right direction for a change....Where the customer drive the market, not the manufacturers!
Now I don't know if you were aware, but Google only owns Motorola's Research Lab. The actual company was purchased by Lenovo a few weeks ago.
Besides, I sort feel the same way, because, besides the hubbub, it doesn't seem like a very user friendly process in my mind. That's why I think it feels like nothing more than a research project with a couple of news reporters locked inside their facilities.
Sent from my ST21i using XDA app-developers app.
Don't forget to hit thanks if I helped!
In the beginning, they will have to offer options in a controlled environment like one poster abive said. It will be similar to
1. CHOOSE YOUR PROCESSOR:
a. Good
b. Better
c. Best
Etc etc....
The first question probably will be "Choose Your Carrier". Then all of the module choices will be pre-screened to function together on that network.
Samsung Galaxy S4 "Fort Knox Edition"
Guys, believe in Google. They made a search engine wich is now the most used engine. They also made a very good browser, an operating system for mobiles, an online map wich has street view and many other good things. Why they couldn't make project ara?
Sent from my LG-P880 using xda app-developers app
PenguinStyle said:
Guys, believe in Google. They made a search engine wich is now the most used engine. They also made a very good browser, an operating system for mobiles, an online map wich has street view and many other good things. Why they couldn't make project ara?
Sent from my LG-P880 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just making sure it wasnt a misinterpretation but google did not create android, Android Inc founded by andy rubin(correct me if im wrong) http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...e-phones/a-complete-history-of-android-470327
PenguinStyle said:
Guys, believe in Google. They made a search engine wich is now the most used engine. They also made a very good browser, an operating system for mobiles, an online map wich has street view and many other good things. Why they couldn't make project ara?
Sent from my LG-P880 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All those things you mention are software, that runs on high performance computers. What ARA requires is a total rethinking of the hardware and engineering of today's mobile phones.
Can any module be swapped for some other type of module? How do they interface? What bandwidth limitations do these interfaces introduce?
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SynGates said:
All those things you mention are software, that runs on high performance computers. What ARA requires is a total rethinking of the hardware and engineering of today's mobile phones.
Can any module be swapped for some other type of module? How do they interface? What bandwidth limitations do these interfaces introduce?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ARA developers conference already answered most of this, so its possibility is not the question. Its availability and adaptability is the question. Will people flock to it or despise it?? Will it make people feel more in control?
If google can advertise this thing as something that gives people more power it will definitely catch on. Plus if Google is truly looking to start their own mobile network as rumoured, then they could start in that manner and make others envious to catch on.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
It's going to be a wait and see what happens on release thing I think. I don't personally don't think it's going to explode instantly onto the mobile scene but give it a year or two and hopefully it will start changing the game. With everything being open source it might pave the way for smaller companies to get into the handheld scene where they don't have the money or resources to develop full devices but can focus on just a single module. Much like the way of the custom pc market.
replicamask said:
It's going to be a wait and see what happens on release thing I think. I don't personally don't think it's going to explode instantly onto the mobile scene but give it a year or two and hopefully it will start changing the game. With everything being open source it might pave the way for smaller companies to get into the handheld scene where they don't have the money or resources to develop full devices but can focus on just a single module. Much like the way of the custom pc market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My sentiments exactly.
Koreans will really fight against this project. They won't be willing to loose the cellular market to Google. ARA has a lot of potential in developing countries, provided the prices for modules will be adequate. But yes, even with adequate pricetag such innovation will require a drastic change in marketing-infected minds of people.
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I hope it could work really well. I'd like to see the ability to transfer all the core modules from one endo 'frame' to another - SIM, WiFi, ROM, storage plus camera and perhaps CPU/RAM from a larger 'everyday' frame to a smaller 'night out' frame. I'd like an 'everyday' camera and a 'holiday' camera. I might carry a speaker module, but would swap it in against a torch module only for those occasions I'd need it. I'd carry spare battery modules and expect to see external chargers for them.
Didn't read the whole thread, but I'd say the whole "eco friendly" concept is BS from the beginning. People will start buying new components everytime they are out, thus generating MORE electric waste.
till22 said:
Didn't read the whole thread, but I'd say the whole "eco friendly" concept is BS from the beginning. People will start buying new components everytime they are out, thus generating MORE electric waste.
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This is possible and a good point. I think they could counter this by placing some inherent value on modules so you could trade them in for cash or credit towards other modules.
I think this will work much better than trading in phones since all modules should work for all ara phones.
What you all need to remember is that the microcomputer revolution didn't really become a mass market phenomenon until the IBM PC arrived with its open "Industry Standard Architecture". This allowed the rapid emergence of third party expansion cards and other "PC compatible" hardware, and "PC clones". Not only did this accelerate the pace of technology development it also pushed prices down significantly. If IBM had not made the PC architecture both expandable and open, general purpose computing would have remained an expensive and specialised tool available only to business and the very rich. Imagine the effect that wouls have had on the development of the worldwide web a decade later.
If you are of the generation who grew up uaing laptops you may not have realised that modular technology is cheaper and more flexible, and it means longer hardware lifecycles.

light reading

Thought I would post this to the community for a light reading..
Behind the scenes the big money is gearing up for the takeover of the car console and one way to do this is via these systems.
If you haven't read how much "Here Maps" sold for the do a google search on it.. that and we already see cross interface information from Waze showing up in Google maps..
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/volvo-google-android-infotainment-polestar-2/
Interesting enough.. the banter had with another poster on "interaction" of these units while driving brings up the point of liability.
If a driver is using these systems and crashes and
a: kills someone
b: kills themselves..
c: hurts or maim
Then it could be argued that the units are at fault..
Of course this is wear motion sensors come into play in that the acknowledgement screen is presented and agreed that the driver is not the one controlling the screen..
Thus hands free kits on steering wheels should in theory get better.. ie maybe trackpads embedded into the steering wheel.. so it's controlled by feel like a mouse so no need for eyes off road..
Please note just theories here and shouldn't be be taken as "as driver shouldn't have a licence if they use this while driving type ultimatum. As it's a bigger discussion then that..
And another one..
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/01/t...ce-is-heating-up-and-will-be-won-in-software/
I am guessing that there are a few readers as most of us that have been early adopters are also interested in the code and tech behind the unit's we use..
As this last article states.. the space is only going to get hotter with this amount of money getting thrown at it.
Mind you that doesn't do anything for those poor bigger suffering from low quality mish mash of parts that are featured in these units we have got.
Hats off to those that tinker with the hardware and develop the roms.
Your making the world a better place for us plebs that are end users and don't have the knowledge or time and just want all our wishes in one little box to work..
dgcruzing said:
And another one..
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/01/t...ce-is-heating-up-and-will-be-won-in-software/
Mind you that doesn't do anything for those poor bigger suffering from low quality mish mash of parts that are featured in these units we have got.
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Click to collapse
I've honestly started to wonder what it would take to design and build a higher quality unit. Everything about these Chinese units we're all using is terrible, non-ergonomic and buggy. From the glossy, cheap screens, to the power supplies that seem to cause most of the poor quality audio issues on the newer units…
I'd pay more for something better.
Yes, I think most of us here would.
As 30+ years ago I spent 2 weeks wages on getting the best system I could for the car back then..
LOL, Apprenticeship wages and that was a 45 hour week ..
When you think about it, most of us are using $1,000+ phones thus if and when there is consistency with this equipment then I am sure that is a price point that could be achieved.
Just need one of the majors to really have a go at it much like some have with the TV setup box's.
With luck, an extension of the Google Home devices into the car is on the way soon enough.
Understand at the moment that Android Auto is being perfected at the moment for this very day.

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