Simplest possible digital output with Android and IOIO. This article will discuss the bare minimal requirements for development of an Android USB (or Bluetooth) digital output device. The goal is to demonstrate the easiest possible use of the technology. For additional background information on Android development, IOIO, and electronics, check out these links:

Meet IOIO

IOIO for Android Beginners Guide

IOIO Wiki

Android Developer’s Guide

Hardware

Parts needed:

  • Android Device (1.6+, 2.1 for Bluetooth)

  • IOIO (available at Sparkfun)

  • 3x LED Lights

  • 3x 330 ohms resistors

  • Breadboard

  • Power supply

  • Hook-up wire

Assembly

Connect the 330 ohm resistors in series with the anodes of the LEDs to the desired digital output pins, and the cathodes of the LEDs to ground. The example uses digital pins 34, 35, and 36, but can be used with any IO pin (all IOIO pins are GPIO pins). The resistors, in this case, are being used to prevent current overdraw to the LEDs. Here is a diagram of the completed circuit (created with Fritzing):

Software

Get the source

With the circuit assembled, the next step is to get the demo application on the Android device. You can either download the pre-built .apk or checkout the source from Github:

git clone git://github.com/mitchtech/android_ioio_simple_digital_output.git

If you are building from source, you will also need to import the IOIO Library project, and optionally the IOIO Bluetooth library projects, both available here:

git clone git://github.com/ytai/ioio.git

Install, connect, profit!

Finally, upload the app to the Android device (or browse to this page on the device and download the apk above). Connect the device to the IOIO, and start up the app.


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