Prototype Development with Intel XDK – Auriga’s Experience [video]

For more than 25 years in professional software development, Auriga has been constantly striving for innovation and excellence. In recent years, Auriga has become one of the pioneer users of the Intel Multi-OS Engine software development tool and an active user of the Intel XDK cross-platform integrated development environment (IDE), a valuable set of tools that allows a developer to quickly create native apps for different platforms with a single piece of code.

The environment enables the quick creation of multi-platform code using HTML5 and Cordova or PhoneGap plugins that can be built and run on all popular mobile and desktop operational systems, such as Google Android, iOS, Windows, and Windows Phone. The code can be tested and debugged using the provided emulator as well as run on a real device, allowing the developer to ensure everything goes smoothly on all possible platforms and devices. The build process is clear and easy to understand, and even more, all the work is done in the cloud so that the developer can concentrate on other things while building software.

The application demonstrated in this video is an emulation of OBD-2 scanner software that allows a user to wirelessly connect his mobile device, be it a Google Android Tablet or iPad, to the scanner currently plugged into the car computer to observe different data transmitting from car sensors.

The application aggregates various types of data from the sensors and analyzes and visualizes it on three different screens:

• The first screen, the vehicle dashboard, allows the user to observe speedometer and tachometer readings, inside/outside temperature and oil pressure levels, tire pressure indicators, and the total distance the car has traveled.
• The second screen provides the owner with information on the distance left before regular service maintenance or refueling is required. Due to the built-in integration with the Google Maps engine, the driver can also get information on any POI or the nearest gas station or dealership.
• The last screen visualizes the results of the vehicle’s engine error scan, and if there are any, it displays the full error information and indicates the required steps according to the online user guide database based on the vehicle make, model, and year.

Since the application is written using HTML5 and Cordova, the variety of code to be reused is overwhelming. The Internet is full of open source jQuery and jQuery Mobile plugins, Cordova plugins, code samples, and custom controls that allow our developers to avoid most work on user interface creation; they just take what is already there and adopt it to current prototype needs, drastically decreasing the amount of time needed for prototype development. In our case, although the app itself uses the proprietary code based on HTML5, code reuse allowed Auriga’s engineers to reduce software development time by about 30% while developing the application for the second platform.

Thus, Intel XDK can be used to quickly deliver prototypes working on multiple platforms to clients from practically all industries, including automotive, finance, and healthcare. Auriga’s unique expertise covers a broad range of embedded & system-level, mobile, and cloud technologies, which allows us to offer sophisticated and flexible solutions tailored to the individual requirements of each customer.

We look forward to cooperating with you on joint projects based on XDK and other development tools!