Android software nerds...Help me with a Smart mirror

[Gamble]

Saw one of these and thought it would be a cool project to have. Especially with my to do list or grocery list that the wife and I can update on our phones and have it show at home too

https://medium.com/@maxbraun/my-bathroom-mirror-is-smarter-than-yours-94b21c6671ba


https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*k31CzsZOtqA89PBVNN5zWA.jpeg

So I have an android 7" fire table to play with that has been collecting dust so why not. I got google store downloaded and tried a few other types of software and they all suck or are too boring so i want to try this one.

His GitHub is here
https://github.com/maxbbraun/mirror


I have never used android studio before and played around last night but have no idea what i am doing. keep getting errors when importing the project. Also never used GitHub before. Was hoping I could just go to the GitHub from the tablet and install it but didn't have much luck playing around there


The instructions seem so simple but it's not working so well for me lol

Simply import the whole project into Android Studio, then build and run the apk.

Can anyone walk me through this ?



I also ordered the 1way mirror film, it was cheap. $15 for 12" x 24'. I'll probably make a frame as my trip to hobby lobby I came up empty handed.

Click to read more...

 

[Grabber]

[MENTION=73]tinfoilhat[/MENTION]

 

[MikeyLikesIt]

Love these. Will subscribe and learn!

 

[Mook]

[MENTION=73]tinfoilhat[/MENTION]

x2

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

Its unfortunately not as easy as jusy import and build. That will get a working app apk but won't be set for your region/weather. That requires modifing the keys.xml file to update the stuff for weather/news according to the readme file.

Ill look at it when i get home, this is one of my to do projects but I was going to use a rasberry pi and an lcd but i do have a tablet collecting dust i could try using this method.

 

[Gamble]

Its unfortunately not as easy as jusy import and build. That will get a working app apk but won't be set for your region/weather. That requires modifing the keys.xml file to update the stuff for weather/news according to the readme file.

Ill look at it when i get home, this is one of my to do projects but I was going to use a rasberry pi and an lcd but i do have a tablet collecting dust i could try using this method.

Let us know if you figure it out
I want to do it on a large screen too but for now I am $15 into it to see how well it works. Can't beat that!

 

[Gamble]

tried this again and no dice. I can't even get it to import. Wonder if I am missing some software

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

It was actually straight forward and easier then I was expecting.

Here is a download to the APK directly that i compiled from the Github.

APK:
https://ufile.io/z2axj

how to build the APK:

Basically you click download in the top right and get the Whole Project Zip fro github. Extract that to its own folder.

Then in android studio click Import and choose the Magic Mirror folder. It will start building but errors will pop up, click the red text and it will download the missing modules and try rebuilding again. I had to download 2 modules before it completed successfully but android studio did all the work and I just had to click next.

After the project opens successfully, you can then go to Build > Build APK in the top bar. Copy that APK to the phone, install and bam!



I havent figured out how to modify weather and news yet, but the app does work.

 

[Gamble]

So you import the entire magic mirror folder? I was trying to import the gradle and other files to find one that worked.

I'll try it again tonight and send a screen shot

my mirror tint showed up yesterday but i don't want to open the box until i have this up and running.

Do you know how to attach other apps or widgets into it? I want to try trello or something for my notes on there. Maybe add alexa in there too for auto notes. That would be great

If it goes as well as I plan I may have to add another one to the shop so i can see my list of things i need to do and tell alexa what to add

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

I have no idea on how to add stuff but I'll try to look at it again tonight. Read the readme files.

Yes the entire folder is "the project". Using that within Android studio, you can modify the app files within the project and then use it to build the APK Android app.

You can also emulate devices and test the app within Android studio before building the APK. This skips having to transfer it and then seeing it doesn't work the way you want on the physical device.

 

[Gamble]

Thanks man, I'll give it a try tonight

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

Thanks man, I'll give it a try tonight

Ok so here is the file you need to modify to add different modules:

*Magicmirror Folder you made*/app/src/main/res/values/keys.xml

Use an application like Notepad++ to make it much easier to deal with compared to regular notepad.

For Weather:

-Go to darksky.net/dev/
-sign up.
-youll then have a Dark Sky API Key in your profile somewhere. This will basically allow the mirror to go to Dark Sky and pull weather data, but you need to register for it to work. thats why the API is needed.
- Update keys.xml file, rebuild apk, reinstall on device. Test. Or just test in the emulation in android studio to see if weather shows up.

Code in the XML file to change with your code is in bold, I luckily already use dark sky for my Home Automation so I have a key already:

<!-- Get the Dark Sky API key from: https://darksky.net/dev/ -->
<string name="dark_sky_api_key">DARK_SKY_API_KEY</string>

For Alexa and chromecast ETC...you need to find the code needed to add to the Keys.XML file and any other addons you may need for it to work. He has already added the DarkSky and Google Maps modules so you only need to insert the Key from the websites where you registered as a Developer. Other modules will require more work.

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

For Traffic to work, you need to modify the Commute.xml file to include your addresses and then also update the Keys.XML file section for google maps with your API key from the google maps developer site.

 

[Gamble]

be nice to integrate pandora, so i can sit at my pc and tell alexa to turn the music on
I did the dark sky thing last week because i know i was going to need it

is there a way to just have this as an app on the tablet where it will install itself without the need for a pc and all these extra steps?

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

be nice to integrate pandora, so i can sit at my pc and tell alexa to turn the music on
I did the dark sky thing last week because i know i was going to need it

is there a way to just have this as an app on the tablet where it will install itself without the need for a pc and all these extra steps?

Wait what? so you want this to have alexa open pandora on the tablet which is mounted in a mirror and then plays sound through what? bluetooth? Im assuming you want to create the Mirror into a Alexa/echo type device?

this app is just made to display data as a default homescreen. So each time you start the tablet, it boots up to this mirror app showing weather and stuff.

Since this is a custom app, no. You will need to compile it anytime changes are needed. This is basically what an app developer does everytime a change is made to an app, then you download the update and install it through play store. Someone has to create all the modules and everything behind the scenes, then create an interface where a user can just input API keys in a nice GUI and then it would be close to using it just in an app form as you are looking for.

This is not just a plug and play application, a majority of the smart mirror projects require custom programming for them to work the way you see them in videos. Someone spent hours configuring it to their liking.

This is why you can't just buy one yet, nobody has built one that someone with minimum IT knowledge can setup. There's a lot of information needed from multiple sources and not everyone likes to work together.

 

[Gamble]

Wait what? so you want this to have alexa open pandora on the tablet which is mounted in a mirror and then plays sound through what? bluetooth? Im assuming you want to create the Mirror into a Alexa/echo type device?

this app is just made to display data as a default homescreen. So each time you start the tablet, it boots up to this mirror app showing weather and stuff.

Since this is a custom app, no. You will need to compile it anytime changes are needed. This is basically what an app developer does everytime a change is made to an app, then you download the update and install it through play store. Someone has to create all the modules and everything behind the scenes, then create an interface where a user can just input API keys in a nice GUI and then it would be close to using it just in an app form as you are looking for.

This is not just a plug and play application, a majority of the smart mirror projects require custom programming for them to work the way you see them in videos. Someone spent hours configuring it to their liking.

This is why you can't just buy one yet, nobody has built one that someone with minimum IT knowledge can setup. There's a lot of information needed from multiple sources and not everyone likes to work together.

there are a few companies that already sell these. Some as mirrors (they are on kickstarter) and the other is dakboard? but i don't think theirs is a mirror

I thought you were able to interface alexa or google voice into the tablet too? probably be bluetooth speakers. Ideally but maybe that's not ready yet. I can wait, i just want to see what it can do for now

There are a few apps that have all of this built in and you just put in your zip code and such, but they are very basic and boring. For now at least

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

Yeah you could run a separate app on the tablet on the background for Alexa and connect it to Bluetooth speakers. That would work and wouldn't need any programming changes on the mirror app unless you wanted it to display the songs.

There probably is an app for Alexa on Android kinda deal

 

[Gamble]

I did the update and alexa is now on it but you have to hold the button, i'm sure there is a setting to not use any buttons, but i'll dig into it later. fingers crossed this works when i get home

 

[Gamble]

Import the entire file then if i click import project from external model it asks me

use gradle local distributor

what folder do i put there?

 

[Gamble]

not sure how but i got it working on the tablet.
I don't care for the news headlines but not sure how to get rid of it

the drive to work is working, the weather works. I know trello has an API just not sure how to integrate it yet.

Been playing with the mirror tint tonight. it's a pain in the ass. nothing like the vinyl decals i do, not even close with the transfer film. i let it dry and then used a heat gun for not long at all and it shriveled up bad. trying it again

wonder if there is a local store i can buy this mirror already done and i can just attach the tablet to the back side. it would loose the touch ability but oh well

 

[Gamble]

I've decided to scrap the idea of the mirror film it's way too much of a pain in the ass
I found an acrylic 12"x12" see through mirror on amazon for $15. So i'll just do that and frame it. Will report back

So I know trello has an API and from what i can tell the software just uses APIs. Haven't figured out exactly how they work but I have a good idea I think. So now just gotta see what cool software out there uses API that would work nice for this.

 

[Gamble]

I can't figure out how to integrate trello into this software so i'm trying other ideas like dashboard with widgets which would get me basically the same results. However I can't add any widgets to any dashboard.
apex, nova, go launcher. All of them crash when you add any widget. it won't let me select google as a launcher either. getting annoyed here