Android consists of systems for everything from graphics to telephony, custom Linux kernel patches and even a complete virtual machine implementation. With source code spanning C, C++ and Java, booting Android on a new platform is not an easy task but the many ports already available on the internet show that it is far from impossible.
So what does it actually take to make your first Android port?
The presentation will focus on what was involved in porting Android to an Atmel AT91SAM9G20 starter kit without any prior knowledge of the Android internals. Starting from scratch the presentation will go through:
• How to get and build Linux 2.6.31 and Android 2.0
• Components for a minimal system
• Hardware drivers and working with a display-less starter-kit
• How to debug
Rather than be an exhaustive guide to Android porting the presentation aims to illustrate first-hand experience with booting a demo of Android for the first time.
Prior knowledge of booting Linux on embedded systems is an advantage.
Peter Aagaard Kristensen is working as Engineering Manager at Prevas A/S where I am head of the software and FPGA department in Copenhagen. For the last 5 years I have been working full time with embedded systems. I have been deeply involved in the development of a range of devices which relied heavily on open source, especially Linux, U-boot and similar projects targeted embedded devices. I have given presentations on embedded systems, software and FPGAs at RTECC and similar conferences.