Android BSP Development Services

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Everyone wants to get to market faster, and one of the best ways to accelerate your IoT and embedded software development time is to use a Board Support Package, or BSP. As we’ve explained before, BSPs are essential for electronic cards and processors, and customized board support packages can accelerate a project significantly.

When it comes to the Android OS, Witekio has developed the strong partnerships necessary to keep our teams fully informed about the microprocessors, microcontrollers, and reference cards that our clients build on for their diverse products. Market leaders like Texas Instruments have relied on Witekio to develop the Android KitKat and Android Marshmallow BSPs for all of their Sitara-based platforms, and customers have launched innovative products using the BSPs for the TI AM335x, TI AL437x, and TI AM57x processors available for self-service download on the Witekio website.

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Why Should I Use an Android BSP?

As I mentioned above, the first and perhaps most important reason to use a BSP is to accelerate the development process. By relying on an established BSP for a particular microcontroller or microprocessor you save all the time that your development team would otherwise spend on this layer of the device software. It’s no secret that this is a way to speed up your development work; indeed, all the major board vendors encourage device vendors to use the BSPs developed for their boards. But there are some other ways in which an Android BSP can help you get your device ready for market and the specific use case for which it is designed.

Kiosk Mode

A BSP can help take a board that could be used for a variety of applications and transform it into something that does just one thing. Android Kiosks are basically devices that are intended to run a solitary application and to serve a particular use case.

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A good example of an Android Kiosk in action is an order station in-store at a fast-food restaurant. The connected order station is designed to run a single application – the restaurant’s own in-store ordering application – and reject all other applications for reasons of security and convenience. While the board inside the order station might be capable of performing a variety of different tasks, the restaurant has an interest in ensuring their stations are used for ordering and nothing more, and a custom BSP is the fastest route to deliver kiosk mode.

Additional Hardware Support

Customizing an Android BSP is the way to quickly add support for hardware elements that are not standard to the board at hand.

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Consider, for example, an external keyboard that a technician might connect to a device when servicing or maintaining the device. Or a third-party barcode scanner that can be connected to a mobile device in a retail or warehouse environment. No matter what the external hardware is, your BSP is the essential link to making sure that your device works as intended.

Connectivity

You can’t develop a connected device without – you guessed it – connectivity. While standard BSPs are delivered out of the box with support for the most common connectivity options, there are some good reasons to modify and customize your Android BSP when it comes to connectivity.

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For example, a standard BSP might come with support for a certain Wi-Fi module but, as times and demands change, support for a new Wi-Fi module is required. In such a circumstance developers can take the standard Android BSP and update it for the new module. Or consider a case where the connectivity options are covered but there is a need to adjust the Android BSP with new drivers for new hardware elements.

In both cases, developing or customizing a BSP for the Android OS is the fast and smart way to be sure that the device is ready for market.

What BSPs for the Android OS Does Witekio Offer?

With decades of experience in developing, customizing, and deploying BSPs for all operating systems and with a strong track record of developing market leading BSPs for the Android platform, it’s no surprise that Witekio offers BSPs for microcontrollers and microprocessors from a variety of vendors.

Along the partners that Witekio has developed and customized BSPs for are:

  • Texas Instruments, including the AM57x, AM37x, and AM335x
  • Intel, including the Intel Atom and Intel Braswell
  • NXP, including the i.MX 6, i.MX 7, and the i.MX 8

Most of the Android BSPs are available for self-service download from the Witekio website and device manufacturers can adopt and deploy those Android BSPs without any intervention from the Witekio team. However, should a client require and request customization Witekio engineers are available to help.

Typically, two embedded software engineers work on a BSP customization project and, depending on the modifications and customizations required, projects can be completed in just days or weeks.

What Companies Have Succeeded with Android BSPs from Witekio?

Witekio has helped develop and customize Android BSPs for customers in all domains; if you have a use case, there’s a good chance that our team has already worked on something similar or is working on that right now. There are, though, a couple of examples that we point to that demonstrate just how important – and effective – a customized Android BSP can be in accelerating a new connected product’s time to market.

The first is Datalogic. Datalogic’s DL-Axist is a rugged PDA running Android KitKat with a full touchscreen interface for users. Datalogic asked Witekio to help them customize the Android BSP to enable seamless porting and hardware integration with Linux tools. Witekio’s team developed a reliable, customized Android KitKat BSP, improved the Android SDK add-on, made changes to optimize power management, and added an Android hardware abstraction layer. As Daniele Fiorini, VP of R&D Mobile Computing at Datalogic put it, the Witekio team delivered “a talented and seamless system architecture” – just what was needed to get to market fast.

The second is Precor. Precor is a leading connected fitness device company that, in March 2016, released their new top-of-the-line P82 console for their range of cardio equipment. With a NXP i.MX6 board and a Quad Core Cortex-A9 processor running an Android OS, Precor turned to Witekio to adapt the existing i.MX6 Android BSP to their use case. Precor saved time by drawing on Witekio’s strengths in Android BSP development. Thanks to this development work and coupled with Witekio’s hardware proficiency and some high-level software development, Precor rapidly deployed a stable, ready-for-market device.

Datalogic: Brand New Android Data Capturing Solution

Challenges & Requirements

A multi-layers software development and support service with a global software understanding: - Embedded software to specific...

Solutions

- Android KitKat porting on the DL-Axis to get a reliable and customized BSP - Hardware integration with Linux - PMIC support...

“At Datalogic, we continuously strive to deliver cutting-edge automatic data capturing solutions, affirming our reputation for delivering the best quality devices to our customers. In achieving...

Precor: Fitness Device Architecture And Full Stack Development

Challenges & Requirements

- Deep knowledge of software integration on NXP ARM MCUs and MPUs such as the i.MX processor family - Development and support...

Solutions

- Android BSP adaptation and integration - Time savings thanks to our legacy BSP development and adaptation for solutions based...

Based on a Variscite System-on-Module (SOM) supporting NXP i.MX6Quad core Cortex-A9 processor for the P82, Precor was looking for a system software integrator company able to match these new consoles...

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