Android + Arduino prototype. How to get it made for me.

July 10, 2013 12:10 PM

I have an idea for an android phone accessory. I would make it myself, but my programming/micro-controller design skills are lacking. How can I get it built for me?

I suppose the idea has some commercial value, but Im not really trying to get rich, I just want to own this thing. I wouldn't want to maintain any ownership of the idea, just a physical instance of it. (idea defined below).

Im sure there are professional prototyping services, but Im guessing those would be prohibitively expensive and over kill for how simple this would be.

Is there an 'etsy' for this sort of work?

What about students in computer science programs?


in case it helps refine advice/answers, the idea is this:
its basically a magnet + reed switch that you mount to a wheel. Any wheel. Connect that to an arduino board and count the wheel's RPM. That passes the RPM to an android app that translates that to MPH/KPH and displays that on screen. Basically, a super minimalistic speedometer you can strap onto anything. (go kart, bicycle, shopping cart, motorcycle etc etc).



I know there are products out there that do something similar, but they use dedicated hardware. I like that idea of using the old android phone i have laying around (that you probably have laying around too). Also, once you get the RPM into android, you can do a lot more cool things - like automatic calibration via GPS, integration with navigation apps, historical tracking... all sorts of neat things. or even offer an API so other apps can ask "what is my current speed?"

Im also aware that speed can be determined using GPS signals, but its not very precise. I currently have a GPS speedometer app and it lags by a few seconds - which can be quite important on the road. It also presumes GPS is available....

tl;dr - i want to put an android based seepdometer on my bike. how can i pay someone to make it for me?

posted by nihlton to Technology (7 answers total)

You could try Elance.
posted by seemoreglass at 12:35 PM on July 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

Drop by your local hackerspace and see if you can tempt anyone there.

(I bet a hall effect sensor would work better than a reed switch, because it has no moving parts, so it can react faster.)
posted by moonmilk at 1:01 PM on July 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

This would also probably qualify as a "gig" on Craigslist.
posted by seemoreglass at 1:07 PM on July 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

While putting this together might be a fun project, your goal-oriented question combined with the fact that you wouldn't be doing it yourself makes me think that the combination of these items would meet your needs:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BFNOT8
http://www.amazon.com/eForCity-Micro-USB-OTG-Adapter/dp/B005QX7KYU
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-010-10999-00-USB-Ant-Stick/dp/B000UO9KSY
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iforpowell.android.ipbike&hl=en

All in you're just below $100 which you probably couldn't beat if you were asking someone to do this as something other than a favor/learning experience.

The ANT API looks like it enables the use cases you mentioned for the API you suggested.

Hopefully your phone is not older than 3.1, which vastly increases the ease of adding USB accessories: http://www.thisisant.com/developer/resources/tech-faq/where-can-i-find-an-android-dongle
posted by kaytwo at 1:08 PM on July 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: @kaytwo - nah, i'd totally be willing to pay someone, but i'll take a look at your links as well! thanks
posted by nihlton at 1:11 PM on July 10, 2013

Don't think you'd need an arduino; your mic port could have a tiny piece of circuitry (he says, hand-wavily) that could pick up switch closures through the mic socket.
posted by scruss at 2:21 PM on July 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

Arduino has a forum, here's the gigs & collaborations board.
posted by hooray at 5:16 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]