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ADK robots at Google I/O 2011 (photos)

Not only is the Android OS customizable, but now you can customize the hardware that Android runs on thanks to Google's new ADK. Here's several examples from Google I/O 2011 of what the ADK can do.

Seth Rosenblatt
Senior writer Seth Rosenblatt covered Google and security for CNET News, with occasional forays into tech and pop culture. Formerly a CNET Reviews senior editor for software, he has written about nearly every category of software and app available.
Seth Rosenblatt
Google_IO_2011_Android_ADK_board.jpg
1 of 9 Photo by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Google introduces hackable hardware

Google's new Android Device Kit, or ADK, will let you create custom hardware peripherals that you can control from an Android device.
Google_IO_2011_Android_ADK_board_2.jpg
2 of 9 Photo by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Flora by Android

The ADK shown here has been customized with a second Arduino board to control a hydroponic grow system (not pictured.)
Google_IO_2011_hasbro_project_phondox.jpg
3 of 9 Photo by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Your phone versus Megatron

This robotic shell designed by Hasbro uses the ADK to create an interface that turns the smartphone into a robotic toy that can be altered by doing nothing more than downloading a new app.
Google_IO_2011_labyrinth_1.jpg
4 of 9 Photo by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Man-sized Labyrinth

This enormous version of Labyrinth is controlled with a Motorola Xoom tablet hooked up to an ADK by USB.
Google_IO_2011_labyrinth_2.jpg
5 of 9 Photo by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

Bigger doesn't mean easier

The Labyrinth gameplay used the Xoom's built-in gyroscope to control the game board, and it took most people a while to get used to making small corrections in the Xoom's orientation to make it past the first hole.
Google_IO_2011_labyrinth_3.jpg
6 of 9 Photo by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

One labyrinth, size large

The scale of the game made it difficult to advance, but some people did. Here, the ball has almost reached the end of the maze.
Google_IO_2011_iRobot.jpg
7 of 9 Photo by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

iRobot, you Jane

This may look like an immobile stand with a Xoom on top, but in fact it's a moving robot that uses the tablet's camera and an ADK to avoid bumping into people on the busy convention floor.
Google_IO_2011_turtlebot.jpg
8 of 9 Photo by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

The TurtleBot

Willow Garage's TurtleBot is aimed at the hobby market, and can be trained to perform different tasks. Originally, it used a Kinect sensor, but the model here that's following around a Google I/O attendee runs on Android with the ADK. Although the current ADK is limited to USB connections, it will soon support Bluetooth, says Google.
Google_IO_2011_Y2_Project.jpg
9 of 9 Photo by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET

More than robots

The ADK is used here by Yoshinari Yoshikawa, founder and CEO of Miselu, a Silicon Valley-based company that is working with keyboard maker Yamaha to develop automated piano controls with Android and the ADK.

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