austriamicrosystems Selected by Google

austriamicrosystems announced that its EasyPoint mini joystick module has been selected by Google for their new Android Open Accessory Development Kit (ADK). The new reference design platform uses the N50P111 EasyPoint joystick module with the AS5013 linear Hall sensor IC to support a new user interface for developers.

Google’s new Android Open Accessory Development Kit is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for developers, engineers, designers, hobbyists, artists and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments. The Arduino board using the EasyPoint module operates with the Android OS (2.3.4 or later) and allows to interact with Android Phones -- or any other Android-based devices -- and the entire environment. It controls Servos and LEDs and can fetch information from various sensors or Human Machine Interfaces (HMI).

According to ABI Research, a total of 302 million smartphones were shipped in 2010, representing a 71 % growth over 2009’s shipment levels. ABI also said that of all platforms, Android will be the biggest winner of the smartphone race, growing from 69 million smartphones shipped last year to a prime position in 2016 when it is set to capture 45 % of the market.

“Our EasyPoint module is based on our unique AS5013 magnetic encoder IC and provides a robust and accurate user interface for a variety of position sensing applications,” stated Alfred Binder, Marketing Manager for HMI at austriamicrosystems. He continued, “Being designed in as the key user interface on the Google Android Open Accessory Development Kit compatible board will speed development time for designers and proliferate our success in the Android space.”