As you know, after a short period of time Google Glass will go into a sleep/hibernation like state where one must swipe the side of the glasses or tilt their head back a minimum of 10 degrees to start using them again.
I have a use case for a handicap individual where they don't have use of their hands (or legs), and can't tilt their head back the full 10 degrees. We measured as best we could, and 7-8 degrees is the best he can do.
I'd like to help this person out with a simple app that wakes up Google Glass in an alternative way. Given his restraints, I was thinking of tying into the accelerometer and waking them up with a simple "shake" of the head ( it would have to be sensitive ), or simply allowing for a way to set it to 7 or 8 degrees instead of the minimum of 10. I figured before diving head first into the GDK and/or Mirror API's, only to find out some sort of "gotcha", I would ask the friendly and resourceful Stackoverflow community if something like this is even possible, and if it is, what those possibilities are.
Thank you to anyone that can add insight.
UPDATE:
I tried Deqing's suggestion. I ended up using Bluetooth Manager for Glass, because the settings apk bluetooth card doesn't support anything but Android and iPhone devices. I was able to get to "Pair a New Device", and have it recognize the device, but when I tapped "Pair", it just sits there trying to pair, and nothing really happens. I then found this google BUG report, which seems to indicate blue tooth connectivity support was broken in update 19.
If hardware approach is an option, grab a Bluetooth keyboard or a regular USB keyboard + OTG cable. You can wake up Glass via keystroke.
Related
An unusual question, but just something that randomly popped into my head.
Wondering if anybody had given this some thought with the current day technology.
It'd might be a pretty neat feature for a multiplayer game.
I know NFC's can detect another device in a nearby proximity, but does it have the ability to detect what angle the device is?
I'm talking about nearby positioning, like within bluetooth or wifi connectivity range.
Nothing related to using GPS or the internet.
No, NFC is for two devices in close proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters, (almost touching each other). It can't be used in multiplayer games unless it involves bumping the two phones together
I haven't seen this capability with any android app, nor have I seen anyone ask it. Is there any way that the Bluetooth or something can be used within your app to see a list of all the other android devices around you? For example, if my friend is using my app and he is in the same room I can see his device on a list in my app, and he can see mine...
There would have to be something that ties to two devices together, for example being on the same Wifi. As it is there is nothing that broadcasts to other devices that you are there by default. Even Bluetooth requires you to turn on discovery mode, or discoverable mode, and even then it will only stay on for a few minutes. If you wish for two devices to tie together, I am almost sure you could use the Bluetooth, but you would have to go through the normal process of discovery, synchronization, and permissions.
I don't think you can use BT to see what OS any phones around you are using, and they would also have to be set to discoverable.
If you want to make an app, it's possible to construct one where people agree to be located, but that's a voluntary issue, and it would be based on GPS radios in the various phones. I'm working on an app right now that has this capability, but again, it's something people sign up for so they can be located specifically for this purpose.
I would explore using the Google Latitude API as a possible avenue of exploration, before you reinvent the wheel creating a similar service.
Is there an Android API for stop charging even though physically the charging is on?
Reading previous answers, it looks like there's no way to do this exclusively in software. However, it should be relatively easy to do it with a little hardware help - i.e. by using any Bluetooth- or WiFi-enabled smart electrical switch with open API. The phone could then switch the charger on or off programmatically whenever it feels like it.
Is there an Android API for stop charging even though physically the charging is on?
AFAIK no.
Justification:
android.intent.action.BATTERY_CHANGED is a protected intent that can only be sent by the system. Therefore you cannot duplicate or override the functionality.
You guys are all missing the point - the purpose of limiting charging is to increase battery lifespan by keeping it away from fully charged conditions (and near empty but that's a different issue). If you anticipate needing a full charge then tell it to charge to 100.
If you can't set a charge limit then the battery would rarely be idle and ideally charged when on the charger. It probably requires device level support though.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=es.guille.stopcharge uses echo "0" > /sys/class/power_supply/battery/device/charge. It works for me on a nexus 4 (rooted), as long as the device isn't fully charged (in a charging state).
Also relevant: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/15001/how-can-i-avoid-the-battery-charging-when-connected-via-usb
Contrary to some answers indicating it's not possible, it is, indeed possible with ROOT. You can find some apps on the Play Store that will allow you to do this (with root permission, of course).
The best app that works on every phone I've tried it on is Battery Charge Limit. You can download it from the Play Store or the XDA discussion thread. The app is under active development so, if you find that your phone isn't supported, just submit an issue on its GitHub page.
NB: I am not the developer of this application.
This is unfortunately not possible. Android only have read APIs for battery data.
Battery charging control is internal to the Android kernel and battery IC modules. Manufacturers do change it from time to time, like HTC is having small cycles from 95-100% (a bad idea IMO), Samsung does stop charges as soon as it reaches 100%, but I've never seen a device able to stop charging before 100% to reduce battery aging :(.
At best if we're lucky, a sysfs interface might help do that, but it requires root and will differ from device to device.
Just to add to this. Samsung phones do not stop charging after 100%. As far as I'm aware they "trickle" charge past this point however they recommend you do not charge your phone past 100% for over 1 hour. Battery manufacturers like Anker also state the same so the idea of stopping the charge at 100% would be really useful. The risks of leaving the phone on charge are battery bloat and eventually cell rupture. I wasn't aware of this to start off with an killed my samsung battery within 3 months of owning the phone.
To expand on the original question. I've noticed some kernels allow fast charging. If they are able to alter the charge rate up could we alter the charge rate down (trickle) to meet a desired finish time (when your morning alarm goes off)??
I have installed a timer on the AC receptacle where I plug my Moto E's charger into. After guestimating how much time the battery needs to charge to about 85%, I set the timer. This is not my idea of a solution, but at least it keeps my phone from being charged to 100%, as I usually err on the short side when setting the timer.
I dont think there would be such an api. If it does exist it needs to be supported by the device manufacture as its not a pure OS lever feature. The same reason would make it a bad idea to use it as not all devices will support it.
That being said it would be a bad idea to use/implement it , mobile devices are not built to directly run from the power supply and a user will not plug in the cable if he/she did not want to actually charge the device.
I am wondering is it possible to do all these on an Android phone? Example, Samsung Galaxy S phone
To automatically launch a video clip upon phone start up i.e. from off position or phone ‘reboot’/’restart’
To run the video clip while the phone is idling
To launch to a particular wap site when interrupted
To restrict user from going to other portal other than the 3 steps above
To restrict user from running other application on the phone.
1) Yes but it may be hard to completely replace the phone's own screens and animation effects thus giving the smooth experience I think you're looking for. It's also pretty user-hostile.
2) What is 'idling'? If you mean standby, absolutely not. You'd kill the battery in 20 minutes in any case.
3) You can launch a website when the phone comes out of standby but it would be really annoying for the user. As for WAP .. I have no idea if you can view WAP on Android. Probably someone has made a viewer. I wasn't aware WAP was being used by anyone since some time around 2008.
4) Not without making your own custom build of Android and flashing it (very difficult technically). Sounds pretty evil for the user.
5) Again, not without making your own custom build of Android. You're reducing the phone to a brick pretty much with this stuff.
Yes, though it is user-hostile.
I have no idea what you are talking about.
I have no idea what you are talking about.
No, except by making your own firmware. Even by replacing the home screen, the user can boot into the Android equivalent of "safe mode" and bypass a replacement home screen app. You would need to have your home screen be the only one on the device, and your apps be the only one on the device.
See #4.
I will add only to question (1), since all the questions have been already answered. If you talk about replacing the standard boot and shutdown animations, then yes, it is very possible and pretty much any custom ROM for the SGS will let you do that. It's just a matter of assembling the sequence of PNG files you want. There are two image flashes before the animation, one is built-in in the bootloader, the other is hardcoded on the kernel.
Examples: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=869347
You can do all these things, however you will need to flash a custom image - I assume you want to customise in-house handsets for a specific project, rather than have this as a generic app - I can't imagine normal users installing this kind of lockdown, and it sounds similar to an approach I was looking at for a project needing cheap PDAs with GSM connectivity.
If that's the case, and volumes are low, you might be better off targeting developer handsets, which can be bought through a publisher account on Android Market. I think this limits you to 10 handsets.
Hope this helps,
Phil Lello
I am trying to do a demo on a android device, but the screen is too small so is kinda hard to do a demo let say in a meeting room with 12 people. Although I can pass the device around the table or just simple borrow or get more devices for the demo purposes.
I understand there are devies where you can buy special USB converter to do TV-out like in iPhone, and some specific devices on Android (e.g. Motorola Incredible?) But I have to demo on a specific device where it runs standard Android build.
I understand I can do it on Android emulator but the screen refresh rate is too slow, as it will send the wrong message to the audience that the app is slow. (Or there is a way to increase the screen refresh rate for emulator?) Furthermore the emulator doesn't support multitouch. (Or am I wrong?)
Not sure if anyone
You do not have many options.
You can use Droid#Screen, but the refresh rate on it is maybe 6fps. I am not aware of any other software projector that is faster.
You failed to mention the "specific device" that you are using, so I cannot comment on whether it has TV-out capability. The HTC DROID Incredible and the Samsung Galaxy S series support composite output -- I use the DROID Incredible for this purpose a fair bit. Most of the devices that have HDMI output only support it for certain built-in apps, such as the video player.
You can rent or purchase a device projector, like an ELMO. These are fairly expensive pieces of equipment purchased new, though I see a handful of used ones on eBay at interesting prices (though watch out -- many seem to lack the AC adapter).
If you can delay the demo several months, you may be able to use a Google TV.
And that's about it, AFAIK.
Or there is a way to increase the screen refresh rate for emulator?
Get a faster computer.
Furthermore the emulator doesn't support multitouch. (Or am I wrong?)
I am not aware of a way to simulate multitouch with an emulator, though I have not gone looking for a solution there.
If you have an Galaxy S3 Android mobile phone, you can use Mobizen. It's free and the screen refresh rate is relatively good. You can control you mobile phone from you computer using your mouse and your keyboard. It's working using USB, 3G or Wifi connection.
I have used this Android screencast tool: http://code.google.com/p/androidscreencast/ in past demos, but again the downside is the relatively slow refresh rate.
If you have a rooted device, you could try Droid VNC Server (it's on the market). The refresh rate isn't too bad, but I certainly wouldn't want to demo full motion video or an arcade game on it.
You could also get a webcam, rig it up with a tripod. Something like this. Downside is your hands will be in the way, maybe issues with lighting and/or focus. Upside is a decent refresh rate.