Last February, Digi introduced the Digi ConnectCore 8X SBC Pro development kit, which supports early development on the upcoming Digi ConnectCore 8X System-On-Module (SOM). Now, the ConnectCore 8X SBC Pro also supports Android Pie—tailored for embedded systems and well suited for high-end, graphical, and multimedia-intensive embedded products.
What is Digi Embedded for Android?
Digi Embedded for Android is an open source and royalty free custom Android distribution based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). It enables you to quickly develop UI-rich applications on Digi’s embedded hardware. It includes:
- Pre-built images that you can program locally using Android Fastboot.
- A custom Android Studio add-on, creating an easy-to-use environment for developing applications using real Digi embedded hardware. It includes sample applications, code examples, and integrated Javadoc documentation.
- Best-in-class online documentation and the well-known Digi support and services to help you bring your product to market as quickly and efficiently as possible.
- The entire buildable source code and its development history, including Board Support Packages and Android internal layers.
- Digi Embedded APIX, which extends Android’s standard APIs to access all the interfaces available on your embedded device.
What do you need to try it out?
- A Digi ConnectCore 8X SBC Pro development kit (CC-WMX8-KIT)
- An LCD application kit (CC-ACC-LCDW-10) (purchased separately)
- Follow the Get Started documentation to get you developing your first application in no time
What exclusive features does it have?
Digi Embedded for Android allows you to access the hardware using standard Android APIs such as audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cameras, touch screens, and video. But it also enables those embedded interfaces that are not supported in a standard Android implementation. Digi Embedded APIX, a custom Android Studio add-on, offers clear examples for accessing the entire set of interfaces available in your development kit, including ADCs, CAN, GPIOs, I2Cs, PWMs, SPIs, watchdogs, and serial ports. Digi Embedded APIX makes it easy to develop secure embedded devices within the Android permission system and SE Linux.
Digi Embedded for Android also includes other important enhancements for your embedded product. Use Digi Remote Manager to configure and manage your fleet of embedded devices from a central location, for example to leverage the customization firmware update framework that enables over-the-air firmware updates out of the box.
Apart from easy application development, Digi Embedded for Android also allows you to customize the operating system for specific hardware and applications. You can download, build, and modify the source to match custom hardware, and the documentation will guide you in preparing production-ready secure images to update your devices.