Let us discuss the software architecture of our embedded system. We will have an Android device, which always has a Launcher application running. This Launcher application will be our custom implementation. It will search local storage for any applications which we want the user to have access to. When found, each of these applications will be required to provide a user interface for display in our Launcher, just like on an Android phone.

Summary Whenever I start a project, the first day is setup the development environment and white list applications. For this project, I have bought several Orange Pi Zero 2 for Android development. Setup of your build system requires building AOSP for this device. This will take several hours, four being a good estimate. I have Android studio running on my local machine. I have git setup, and will use it to track code progress.

This blog will be documentation for building a prototype embedded system for plant monitoring. The embedded system will be code named AndroidIvy. Hardware will support the following: Optional Touch Screen Display Abiilty to hot plug components Ability to connect and control through a mobile app Software requirements will be specified in more detail as the product is completed. Initial requirements are: Ability to read output of connected hardware Ability to log commands and state of system Runs on Android By documenting the process, I hope to share knowledge of Android Development, Electrical Engineering and inspire makers to do the same.