Exploring Android Development and Robotics: My Journey with Temi Robots in College

This semester, I’m fully immersed in my courses, and I’m particularly excited about two of them. The required Android Development class is providing me with valuable insights into how a mobile OS handles user-built apps. But what makes this semester even more thrilling is the ‘Applied Research’ class, an invite-only course with a subject that changes each semester based on the faculty’s current interests.

This year, the focus is on an excess inventory of Temi robots, which were purchased by college managers without a clear plan for their use. Since Temi runs on Android, it has created a perfect synergy with the Android Development class. For instance, we learned how to use a BroadcastReceiver to pick up Bluetooth signals, helping us find nearby BT devices for Temi to connect and interact with.

Our class of 10 students is divided into two teams, each tackling a different problem. One team is customizing Temi’s built-in tour functions to guide students around the college. My team is working on connecting Bluetooth devices to Temi. Our goal is to have Temi follow a predetermined route through hospital halls, connect to medical devices like the Shimmer3, and securely download and pass that data to the appropriate medical staff.

We’ve faced several challenges, including transitioning from Java, which is taught at the college, to Kotlin; learning Android development as we see it in action for the first time; unpacking the Temi SDK; and discovering Temi’s quirks, like the time it moved too quickly over a bump and fell onto the tiled floor, screen-first.

I’m incredibly grateful to be part of this team. Robots and Bluetooth have always fascinated me, and now I have the chance to dive deep into both.