I'm trying to create a simple glassware using GDK which wirelessly receives
data from a laptop and uses the data to create some visual representation.
I'm wondering if the current Google Glass supports wifi direct or other kind of
wifi p2p connection, and it can be used for the idea.
Or is Bluetooth the only available option for this kind of applications?
Thank you so much in advance.
Since Glass is basically Android, anything that would work on Android should work with it. I think websockets will do what you want, and there are multiple implementations of that for Android and other platforms.
That said, be sure to remember that Glass is a relatively weak system with a short battery life, so maintaining long lasting communications could be costly. Use caution.
Related
Out of curiosity... has anyone ever been able to integrate AirDrop functionality into an Android app?
I really don't care about receiving any information on the Android side, but am hoping I can send information to the iOS side from Android. I'm hoping to find someone with a more in-depth understanding of how it works and if it is physically possible. Also, any direction on whether Apple has proprietary use over the protocol (or if it is just the name and branding) would be awesome!
Trying to build a cross-platform app and getting pretty close, but this would just extremely convenient if it works out :)
Currently, it is not possible as AirDrop uses Bluetooth to create a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi network between the devices. Each device creates a firewall around the connection and files are sent encrypted, which actually makes it safer than transferring via email. AirDrop will automatically detect nearby supported devices, and the devices only need to be close enough to establish a good Wi-Fi connection, making it possible to share files across several rooms.
Some Android devices use a combination of Near Field Communications (NFC) and Bluetooth to share files. But both Bluetooth and NFC are relatively slow compared Wi-Fi, which makes sharing larger files using AirDrop much faster and more convenient.
Regarding protocol, I don't think Apple has made it public and as far as I know Apple they must have patented it. Since AirDrop uses Bluetooth as well, and Android and iPhone Bluetooth are not compatible. Hence, due to all these reasons, we did not see any Android app that can send data via AirDrop.
I am currently developing an application that exchanges small chunks of data between iOS devices. Eventually, my plan is to release an Android version of the application. It seems as if it may be overkill to use Google Play Game Services on iOS for data exchange with Multipeer Connectivity available however it may be necessary to achieve multi-platform data exchange. Am I better off implementing completely separate iterations of the iOS and Android applications using Multipeer Connectivity and Google Game Services respectively or should I use Google Game Services for both? Also, it would be appreciated if someone could detail the performance differences between the two frameworks.
Multipeer is an iOS technology that allows for direct communication between nearby iOS devices. This can use Adhoc/Direct WiFi, Bluetooth or connect two devices which are on the same WiFi router.
Google Play Games Services allows for communication between devices across the internet.
The two technologies are not really comparable because they solve different problems. If you need communication across the internet on iOS, then perhaps you need to be evaluating Game Center instead of Multipeer. If you need local communication, then perhaps you should investigate Android's bluetooth and WiFi Direct capabilities.
There are more options than using MPC or GPGS. As Columbo said, you can use Bluetooth and WiFi Direct directly on Android. It's a long and bumpy way because it's not as stable on Android as it is on iOS. There are also other frameworks out there that try to mitigate the issues.
Disclaimer: I work for Uepaa, developing p2pkit for Android and iOS.
I've been reading up on how to transfer data between iOS devices over Bluetooth using GameKit. I'm not writing a game, per se, but do have a need to transfer a small amount of binary data between two devices. Between two iOS devices, this is easy enough. However, I was wondering if it is possible to transfer data between an iOS device and an Android device via the same mechanism.
Has anyone come across documentation/tutorial that would explain how to do this? Is it even technically possible? Or has Apple put in some sort of restriction that would prevent this?
The other option I discovered was Bonjour over Bluetooth. Would this be a more suitable option for this type of operation?
This question has been asked many times on this site and the definitive answer is: NO, you can't connect an Android phone to an iPhone over Bluetooth, and YES Apple has restrictions that prevent this.
Some possible alternatives:
Bonjour over WiFi, as you mentioned. However, I couldn't find a comprehensive tutorial for it.
Some internet based sync service, like Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon S3. These usually have libraries for several platforms.
Direct TCP/IP communication over sockets. (How to write a small (socket) server in iOS)
Bluetooth Low Energy will be possible once the issues on the Android side are solved (Communicating between iOS and Android with Bluetooth LE)
Coolest alternative: use the Bump API. It has iOS and Android support and really easy to integrate. For small payloads this can be the most convenient solution.
Details on why you can't connect an arbitrary device to the iPhone. iOS allows only some bluetooth profiles to be used without the Made For iPhone (MFi) certification (HPF, A2DP, MAP...). The Serial Port Profile that you would require to implement the communication is bound to MFi membership. Membership to this program provides you to the MFi authentication module that has to be added to your hardware and takes care of authenticating the device towards the iPhone. Android phones don't have this module, so even though the physical connection may be possible to build up, the authentication step will fail. iPhone to iPhone communication is possible as both ends are able to authenticate themselves.
Maybe a bit delayed, but technologies have evolved since so there is certainly new info around which draws fresh light on the matter...
As iOS has yet to open up an API for WiFi Direct and Multipeer Connectivity is iOS only, I believe the best way to approach this is to use BLE, which is supported by both platforms (some better than others).
On iOS a device can act both as a BLE Central and BLE Peripheral at the same time, on Android the situation is more complex as not all devices support the BLE Peripheral state. Also the Android BLE stack is very unstable (to date).
If your use case is feature driven, I would suggest to look at Frameworks and Libraries that can achieve cross platform communication for you, without you needing to build it up from scratch.
For example: http://p2pkit.io or google nearby
Disclaimer: I work for Uepaa, developing p2pkit.io for Android and iOS.
You could use p2pkit, or the free solution it was based on: https://github.com/GitGarage. Doesn't work very well, and its a fixer-upper for sure, but its, well, free. Works for small amounts of data transfer right now.
How can I play bluetooth chess with my iPhone and my friend's Android device? Api? (Probably duplicate of other questions)
ZeroConf a.k.a. Bonjour is a fine way to discover other devices providing services, and it's limited to the local network. One of its best features is that it doesn't require any prior knowledge or setup -- it's mission is service discovery.
Why not just use a web service? It'd be easier than doing bluetooth discovery and pairing or wifi-server client stuff (trust me, at least on the latter). It's the easiest way to make everything relatively network (ie 3g/4g/wifi) independent. You just have a simple protocol your app follows, and you can play with all players everywhere, no discovery needed. Probably less battery drain than bluetooth too.
Bonjour is great for discovering stuff (ie other players) on the same network. The problem with bonjour is you usually need to be on the same wifi network (though not necessarily, but don't ask me how the hell this works, but it can be done apparently). You'd also in theory need to apply for an bonjour/mdns id, though this is pretty easy.
Here's a similar question.
The Following Link Provides a Book Named "Beginning IOS Game Center and Game Kit: For IPhone, IPad and IPod Touch" Hope this Will Help.Best of luck.
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I was wondering if there is an API that allows for direct communication between two or more Android devices, particularly for real-time multiplayer gaming. For example, is Bluetooth communication between two devices for the purpose of gaming?
EDIT: I do not have a (reliable) server so I cannot consider it as an option. I am looking for an API that strictly uses direct device communication (so no servers).
http://androidforums.com/android-games/57-mages-multiplayer-android-game-engine-chess-game-included.html
Here is one multiplayer engine i have run across when exploring networking options. I have not used it though so I cannot give any insightful opinion about it.
Generally I tend to lean towards creating my own tcp client / server solution. Of course the best choice for you depends on what type game / application you are looking to make. Generally if you plan to have a good number of users on at a single given time (more than 3+) P2P is strayed away from. That being said i have also yet to see a well working solution for a client / server application over bluetooth, which leaves you with traditional networking strategies.
Yes there are APIs for that now.
"Nearby Connections is a peer-to-peer networking API that allows apps to easily discover, connect to, and exchange data with nearby devices in real-time, regardless of network connectivity."
https://developers.google.com/nearby/connections/overview
Also see:
Wifi P2P
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/wifip2p
Overview on what to select:
https://developer.android.com/training/connect-devices-wirelessly
PS I know this is an old question but it still ranks very high on search engines, therefore I add this answer.
If you're doing Peer-2-Peer, then Bluetooth and/or NFC would be your best bets. I would suggest to using the "Internet" approach through Wifi as it offers more flexibility.