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Can an Android tablet be used to program the prop? — Parallax Forums

Can an Android tablet be used to program the prop?

kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
edited 2013-05-06 09:54 in Propeller 1
I can pick up a Hip Street Flare tablet for $ 60.00 with the following specs:

Android 4.0 ICS operating system
9” colour (400x480) capacitive touch screen
512MB ram
8GB capacity - expandable to 32 GB with Micro SD card (not included)
1.2 GHZ CPU processor with 512 MB DDR2 RAM
Rechargable lithium polymer battery built-in
High speed direct mini USB 2.0
Built in speaker
Built-in front facing camera
Multiple language format

I am thinking of using this to connect to field busses and the propeller chip for debugging/diagnostics and possibly for programming the prop.

Any Android gurus out there know if any of this is feasible?

I am assuming the micro USB port on the Flare can handle a serial to USB module and there is at least some terminal emulation software for it. Am I correct in that assumption?

Is there a software package for Android that will compile and download programs to the prop in Spin, PASM, C, or something else?

Is 512MB of ram enough to run such a program?

Comments

  • MacTuxLinMacTuxLin Posts: 821
    edited 2013-05-04 11:44
    There's a thread about this here.
  • frank freedmanfrank freedman Posts: 1,983
    edited 2013-05-04 20:14
    When I was exploring which tablet I was going to end up with, someone mentioned they had done it with an Asus transformer pad. But I ended up on a Surface Pro because it makes my life at work so much more convenient. Enough that I bought it on my own, not the company. Does the job very well, including proptool. Just have not had a chance to put BST on it yet. Then again this is a thread for Android use........
  • rickfluckrickfluck Posts: 5
    edited 2013-05-06 09:54
    This tablet appears to be very low end, doesn't even support Google Play, so I would be leery, but for the price it may be useful to hack.

    I contacted their support and they were not sure if it supported USB Host or USB OTG or not, for USB cable connection other than PC for memory up/down loading. See snippet of chat below:

    ME: I'm not sure I understand your answer. Do you mean a separate USB Host? The tablet should act as a USB Host, if it can, so that it powers memory sticks, disk drives, etc.
    Steve: sorry for the wait, yes it needs a seperate usb host

    Programming the prop doesn't look likely via Android until someone develops an Android SPIN application. The tablet doesn't appear to have Bluetooth, so WiFi is your only hope of data collection via the prop in the field. We do this with USB, Bluetooth, and WiFi with your AndroiDAQ data acquisition module, which is based on the prop. More information about our module is here: http://www.controlcapture.com/androiddaqmod

    Rick
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