Inside Aido

We wanted Aido’s interface to run Android, as this would immediately give users access to millions of apps on the Google Play Store. However, Android was not powerful enough for what Aido had to tackle at home.

Hence, we decided on a dual OS architecture for Aido.

Android interface

Aido’s Android frontend runs a Rockwell chip with 512MB RAM. This runs a version of Android Lollipop & a custom UI interface for rich interactions with people.

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Linux core

Aido’s core system runs on two quad-core 1.6GHz processors, each with 1GB DDR RAM. Aido’s core processor runs a headless version of Ubuntu. We have removed unnecessary drivers & modules that Aido doesn’t need. We are calling this version OpenAido.

OpenAido controls elements like mobility, WiFi signal strength & navigation, system guidance, onboard sensors, and projectors. We will be exposing select APIs for this interface, especially around the sensors for users who would like to play around with controls and data.

We will be releasing OpenAido under an open source license so that other robotics solutions can use the same system.

Interface

OpenAido and Android communicate over a secure VPN at all times.

  • If there is a Wi-Fi connection available, both systems connect to it and communicate over this.
  • If there is no Wi-Fi network available, the Linux system acts as a WiFi hotspot and the Android system connects to it as a client.
  • In the latter mode, Aido will not be able to communicate with internet-based services, but can still run local media and functionality.