To a bright New Year … the folks at Google may have reason to say too! To replace their somewhat hapless ‘Brillo’, the Internet company will out bring a revised version of their IoT OS called "Android Things". Generally it is a variant of Android, specifically intended for single board computers like the Raspberry Pi, specifically when used for measurement, processing and control. The Elektor projects where an Android Smartphone assumes such a role enjoy great popularity among our readers. Consequently, at quite short notice we have calendared a two-part series on our magazine planning. Prominent software journalist and expert Tam Hanna has tried out the new Android Things for Elektor and in part 1 of the series (Elektor 2/2017, March & April) describes his step by step guide to a kickoff GPIO toggle project. Part 2 then covers reading your own sensors connected to the RPi. The captured data can then be processed analogous to the values read by sensors commonly available in smartphones. My first impression: exciting stuff for all those who managed to master the complexities of Android and the Android Studio development environment. As a fan of cross-platform solutions I am also keen to try developing a few RPi apps myself straight off in the new year.

On behalf on the Elektor e-zine and editorial team, my best wishes for the new year and a pleasant start of the next year in electronics!