May 2019 Summaries

Coral is enhancing its offerings to make on-device AI development more accessible, as detailed by Vikram Tank, the Product Manager for the Coral Team. The Edge TPU Compiler is now available as a downloadable binary for Debian-based Linux systems, improving integration into custom workflows. The Coral site features a new section showcasing example projects like Teachable Machine, which allows users to retrain vision models on their devices, and Minigo, an implementation of AlphaGo Zero for the Coral Dev Board or USB Accelerator. Additionally, Coral's distribution network is expanding with Arrow set to sell Coral products, supporting the growth of the Coral ecosystem for machine learning enthusiasts and professionals.

In an effort to increase diversity in the tech industry, particularly in cloud technologies, Google has implemented Cloud Study Jams through Google Developer Groups and the Women Techmakers program across Europe. These study sessions offer participants free access to Qwiklabs credits for hands-on courses in Google Cloud, aiming to engage more women and diverse individuals, especially those from front-end development backgrounds. The initiative, which saw over 450 attendees—80% of whom were women—has been well-received, with many participants expressing aspirations to pursue Google Cloud Certification as a career goal. The jamming sessions are designed to be flexible and self-directed, allowing organizers to focus on facilitating rather than instructing, and have successfully attracted a mix of front-end developers, data scientists, and back-end developers, furthering their engagement in cloud technology.

Launched a year ago, the .app domain has become the first open top-level domain with built-in security through HSTS preloading, attracting hundreds of thousands of registrations. This domain ensures a secure internet connection via mandatory HTTPS, which protects websites and their visitors from various cyber threats. The popularity of .app has been fueled by the increasing number of individuals, particularly students, creating websites for projects and businesses, emphasizing the importance of having a descriptive and secure domain name. Despite the domain's success, there remains a significant portion of the population unaware of the distinction between HTTP and HTTPS, highlighting the ongoing responsibility of web creators to ensure user safety. The initiative encourages those planning to build websites to prioritize internet security by choosing a .app domain, contributing to a safer online environment.

Firebase introduced new features for its ML Kit at the I/O conference, aimed at simplifying machine learning integration into applications. These features include an Object Detection and Tracking API, which allows real-time tracking of objects in images, and can be paired with cloud solutions for enhanced visual search experiences, as demonstrated by Adidas. Additionally, the On-device Translation API enables offline text translation into 58 languages, ensuring privacy by keeping translations on the device. Firebase also offers AutoML Vision Edge, allowing developers to create custom image classification models using uploaded training data, which can run locally on user devices. The initiative includes collaboration with the Material Design team to provide design patterns for integrating machine learning into apps, with these open-source patterns available on Material.io. These innovations reflect Firebase's commitment to making machine learning accessible to developers and enhancing user engagement, with ML Kit-powered features witnessing a 60% monthly growth in use.

Chrome OS and Flutter have formed a synergistic partnership, enhancing the development experience and expanding capabilities for developers. Chrome OS, known for its simplicity, security, and speed, now supports the creation of customized applications through the latest Flutter release, which facilitates rich UI development with keyboard and mouse support. This collaboration allows developers to build and test Flutter apps directly on Chrome OS, leveraging its native Android app compatibility and Linux tool support. The introduction of Chrome OS-specific lint rules ensures that apps align with best practices, improving performance on Chromebooks. With tools like Android Studio and Visual Studio Code running efficiently on Chrome OS, thanks to improvements in its Linux support, developers can enjoy enhanced productivity features such as Stateful Hot Reload and seamless resizing. Flutter's ability to adapt existing mobile apps for Chrome OS with minimal effort, demonstrated by companies like AppTree, highlights its potential for enterprise applications that require high-quality graphics and large-screen layouts. Overall, the combination of Flutter and Chrome OS offers an ideal environment for developing multi-platform apps, providing developers with the tools and support needed to create robust applications efficiently.

Google is simplifying the integration of Google Assistant into Bluetooth devices for manufacturers by partnering with Qualcomm to create a comprehensive development kit. This initiative aims to enhance the user experience with Google Assistant across various wireless devices, such as headphones and earbuds, which are increasingly popular. The Qualcomm Smart Headset Development Kit, powered by the QCC5100-series Bluetooth audio chip, facilitates easy creation of smart headsets and incorporates Google Fast Pair technology to streamline the pairing process. Additionally, a Qualcomm Smart Headset Reference Design has been developed to inspire manufacturers, offering high-quality audio, noise cancellation, extended battery life, and a button to activate the Assistant, showcasing the potential features that can be engineered into new devices.

At the I/O 2019 event, Google introduced new tools and updates for developers working with Actions on Google, aiming to enhance user engagement across web, mobile, and smart home platforms. These enhancements include support for How-to markup, which allows web developers to provide rich, interactive search results and Google Assistant responses, as well as a How-to Video Template for video creators to transform content into step-by-step tutorials. App Actions have been expanded with built-in intents for new categories like Health & Fitness and Ridesharing, enabling voice-activated app integration. For smart home developers, the Local Home SDK was announced to improve device communication speed and reliability, and Assistant Connect was introduced to facilitate the integration of Google Assistant features into smart devices. Additionally, a developer preview of Interactive Canvas was launched, allowing the creation of full-screen experiences on Smart Displays and Android phones using familiar web technologies. These developments aim to provide developers with more opportunities to connect their content and services with users through voice and interactive interfaces.

Chrome OS has become an increasingly attractive platform for web and Android developers, thanks to recent enhancements that prioritize speed, simplicity, and security. Over half of all Chromebooks now support Linux, enabling developers to build and run Linux apps with ease, and all new devices are Linux-ready. Enhancements like simplified file sharing across Linux, Android, and Chrome OS, improved port forwarding, and easier installation of Android Studio have streamlined the development process. The number of users running Android apps on Chrome OS has surged by 250%, and Chromebooks accounted for 21% of U.S. notebook sales in Q4 2018. This growth presents developers with a unique opportunity to reach a large, engaged audience by optimizing their apps for Chromebooks, as exemplified by popular apps like Concepts and BandLab, which have successfully adapted to larger screens and seen increased user engagement. Chrome OS continues to evolve as a fast, secure, and efficient environment for developers, offering a promising future for app development on its platform.

Google announced significant updates to ARCore, its augmented reality platform, aimed at enhancing the interactivity and realism of AR experiences. The updates include enhancements to the Augmented Images API, allowing for the tracking of moving images and simultaneous tracking of multiple images, which facilitates more dynamic experiences like animated playing cards. Additionally, improvements to the Light Estimation API, specifically with the introduction of Environmental HDR, use machine learning to provide realistic lighting effects in digital scenes by accurately simulating shadows, highlights, and reflections. Google also introduced Scene Viewer, a tool that enables users to view 3D objects in AR directly from websites without needing to download an app, making AR experiences more accessible. These updates aim to improve real-world understanding in ARCore, thereby making augmented reality experiences more engaging and easier to access, with features expected to roll out in upcoming releases.

Flutter, originally designed as a mobile app framework for iOS and Android, has expanded to support web, desktop, and embedded devices, marking a significant milestone in its development. The framework enables developers to use a single codebase to create high-performance, visually appealing apps across multiple platforms, enhancing productivity and reducing complexity. This expansion includes a technical preview of Flutter for the web, a project that began as an exploratory initiative to port the Flutter engine to web standards, resulting in successful demos on various browsers. Additionally, Flutter is integrated into Google's smart display platform and supports Chrome OS, making it a versatile choice for diverse applications. Companies like the New York Times and eBay have adopted Flutter for its efficiency and capability to deliver consistent user experiences across platforms. The Flutter team continues to develop its ecosystem with new packages and features, such as support for in-app payments and a custom image classifier. The growth and adoption of Flutter are evident, with it being named the fastest-growing skill among software engineers and one of the most-loved frameworks in recent surveys.

Google Pay offers a versatile platform for developers to facilitate seamless transactions, from contactless payments in physical stores to online purchases and peer-to-peer transfers. It allows users to manage various financial activities, including storing tickets, managing loyalty cards, and tracking transactions, with all credit and debit cards saved to their Google Account available for use. The integration of Google Pay's API into apps or websites enables expedited checkouts with just a few clicks, while ensuring security through tokenization, which encrypts card details using a secure number that changes with each transaction. Developers can enhance user experience and conversion rates by integrating Google Pay, providing a faster, more secure payment process without the need for users to repeatedly enter payment details. Google Pay supports multiple surfaces, including Google Assistant, and offers added flexibility through the Payment Request API, enabling a native browser experience across major browsers. As Google Pay continues to evolve, it incorporates new features like PayPal integration, allowing developers to access new payment methods without additional development work. Developers are encouraged to explore educational resources such as tutorials and integration checklists, and to stay updated with new features through events like Google I/O.