September 17, 2013

Controlling Arduino via Android and Droid Ei software

It's always interesting to see new platforms and software that make life easier when trying to control an Arduino from a smartphone, and it looks as if the new Droid Ei software is a step in the right direction. As documented by Instructables user "aprabhakar", the user requires a typical Android smartphone and an Arduino ADK or compatible board with a USB host socket. From which point you can drag-and-drop the required interface using the Droide EI website, check the code and then transfer it to the phone. This is demonstrated in a simple manner with the ubiquitous LED control from the smartphone. 

Although it looks to be in early stages, the Droid Ei platform does show some promise. To learn more, visit the introductory tutorial. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

A great way of interfacing Android phones with Arduino is with a boad that has a USB host shield, such as our Freetronics USBDroid board:

Apart from being a fully Arduino Uno-compatible, it has onboard microSD socket and the full USB socket and host-mode controller. As well as the Bluetooth application described above, this is the ideal platform for developing peripherals or projects based around Android devices with ADK (Android Developer Kit) functionality, but without requiring a USB host controller shield stacked onto an Arduino. For more information and to order, visit the product page here

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