Over on the XDA developers forums, something really cool is happening. Android hacker extraordinaire [AdamOutler] has managed to port the Android Debug Bridge to the Raspberry Pi.

The Android Debug bridge allows hardware tinkerers full access to their Android device. This feature has been used to build everything from telepresence robots to connecting a MIDI keyboard to a phone. With this port of the Android Debug Bridge, anyone can take advantage of the existing hacks and hardware written around the ADB to build something completely new.

The Android 3.1 platform (also backported to Android 2.3.4) introduces Android Open Accessory support, which allows external USB hardware (an Android USB accessory) to interact with an Android-powered device in a special accessory mode. When an Android-powered powered device is in accessory mode, the connected accessory acts as the USB host (powers the bus and enumerates devices) and the Android-powered device acts as the USB device

SMARTPHONE VENDOR Samsung has open sourced its Android 4.0 operating system implementation found on its Galaxy S3 smartphones.

The firm has open sourced its Android operating system source code less than a week after launching the device.

Samsung has released 180MB of source code for Samsung Galaxy S3 units with the model number GT-I9300.

With Samsung open sourcing its code, third party Android developers can incorporate parts of its Touchwiz interface into their distributions.

Android distributions such as Cyanogenmod have proved popular with those who want to wipe mobile operator bloated Android installations.

Samsung’s decision not to hang around open sourcing its Android code is very welcome and should be a lesson to others. Also Samsung’s actions highlight that revenue generation is not hampered by open sourcing code, despite what some companies might try to lead you to believe.

Matt Oppenheim has developed a radio that speaks to an Android smartphone. He designed the gadget to help the visually impaired learn the layout of a new device. Push a button on the radio, and it speaks its function.

Oppenheim took an Arduino Uno, touch-sensor shields, and a USB shield and connected them to a Nexus One Android phone.

He added the audio-enhanced touch sensors to the radio. When a control is touched, the phone plays an audio tag describing the function.

Once the ADK tool kit came out, which allows Android phones to be hosted by a microcontroller, I had all of the pieces to implement the idea.

Gadget Freak Case #213: Android Brings the Mirror to Life
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1362&doc_id=243732

Al Linke has created an interactive mirror that can be activated with an Android phone. While the number of applications is potentially unlimited, Linke has created a handful of games that are available through Google Play (formerly known as Android Market).

You can play Magic 8 Ball — the kids’ game where you ask questions — or Verbage, an app that displays random words on the mirror, or you can stream a portion of your phone’s camera onto the mirror.

This project uses the IOIO microcontroller, Bluetooth Dongle and LED RGB 16 x 32 Matrix.

Controlling is done with Android Phone (2.3.3 or above if using Bluetooth).

The source code and video:
http://droidalyzer.com/ioiomatrix.html

Build instructions:
http://downloads.deusm.com/designnews/interactive_mirror_build_instructions_v2.pdf

With the coming of Android 3.1 you finally have the option of using the device as a USB host. This may be through a USB OTG (On-the-Go) adaptor, but nonetheless it’s a feature which was sorely missed until now. [Manuel] put together a guide on using Android as a USB host. As you can see, his example hardware is an Arduino board but this is applicable with just about any device.

The tutorial implements a test app for the Android device where a slider will set the brightness of the Arduino’s on-board LED.

Android USB Host + Arduino: How to communicate without rooting your Android Tablet or Phone
http://android.serverbox.ch/?p=549

I know the secret wireless protocol that was used in Google’s recent Android@Home demonstration…

All of which brings us to Android@Home, which was announced at the recent Google I/O Conference.

Day One Keynote Presentation on YouTube. About 43 minutes into the presentation they started talking about something called Android@Home.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxzucwjFEEs&feature=player_embedded

But what is the wireless protocol in question? For some reason no one seems to be talking. For example, in a recent Technology Insight post titled Google’s Android@Home and the Impact on the Home Automation Market that appeared on the ABI Research website, author Sam Lucero, Practice Director, M2M Connectivity refers to “The as-yet-to-be-named wireless protocol announced along with the Framework…”

Call me “slow” if you wish, but it took me quite a while before light eventually dawned and I said: “It’s you, isn’t it?” This was followed by more mumbling from their end. Eventually I decided to take the bull by the horns and called Synapse CEO Wade Patterson. When I asked if he could confirm or deny that SNAP was the protocol in question, there was a long, thoughtful pause; then Wade said “Well, I’m not going to deny it.”

Synapse SNAP: Internet-enabled, IEEE 802.15.4-based, auto-forming ..
http://www.synapse-wireless.com/?mainID=3&subID=5&type=product&prodID=5