Since you’ve probably never heard of Google’s Internet of Things initiative called Project Brillo, it should come as no surprise that the internet giant has launched something to replace it.
That something is called Android Things, and it’s a rebranded Project Brillo that integrates Brillo with Google’s existing Android development tools. It allows developers to build smart devices on top of Android APIs and Google’s various other services. Much work was put into making it as easy to work with as possible.
Google unveiled a developer preview of Android Things in mid-December, and made it available to developers immediately. The company said it hopes that by making working with its Internet of Things operating system easier, developers will flock to it.
Android Things will be the newest member of the Android family that covers Android TV, Android Auto and Android Wear – Google initiatives that cover entertainment, motor vehicle operating systems and wearables respectively.
Support for Google’s IoT communications platform Weave will be incorporated into Android Things at a later date by way of a future developer preview.
And should developers have already started working on Brillo projects, Google has promised to help to migrate those projects over to Android Things.
The list of smart device makers who have thrown their weight behind the Android Things initiative (and specifically Weave) includes the likes of Belkin WeMo, LiFX, Honeywell, Wink, TP-Link and First Alert.
Finally, it appears Google is consolidating its approach to IoT by creating a single development environment with support for a wide range of protocols. With an easier development path and buy-in from some big names, we should start seeing a large number of IoT-enabled devices that can talk to Android phones in the very near future.
[Source – Google, Image – CC By 2.0]
