Is there an Android based Google Glass Emulator?

Question

Is it possible to define an Android Virtual Device for use to develop Google Glass apps (until the devices become widely available)?

Jot

I'm looking for such an emulator that runs on my laptop rather than having to have an Android device--nothing handy right now :P – Insula

Answer 1

There isn't an out the box emulator.

You can use the playground to preview your cards, this will show you how your card will be laid out depending on what attributes you provide in your timeline post object. On the right. Just switch that view on the right to HTML if you want to provide a custom HTML template for your cards.

Uncoil

This is a good answer, but the playground is only available to folks using the Mirror API and not the native GDK. – Adsorbate

@Adsorbate is there any other way? like without Mirror API? to use GDK offline as what was announced? – Breath

Answer 2

There's no official Glass Emulator yet.

I overcame this via installing Glass APKs into Nexus 7 tablet.

It worked perfectly:

• I can control it in http://google.com/myglass
• Mirror API works flawlessly.
• GDK Sneak Peak doesn't work.

I described all the required steps here: http://www.elekslabs.com/2013/11/google-glass-development-without-glass.html

Tagmeme

This is just running the "Compiled" glass APKs. How to compile them? – Brecher

Just use the GDK to compile the apps you will get the apk and then just push it to that "Hacked nexus" to install it.. – Enclave

@naveedahmad I hope, the best accepted answer which could exist, would be about Google's official emulator. Unfortunately, we're just waiting for it. – Tagmeme

@OstapAndrusiv you are right but your ans is much related to the question. – Thorax

Answer 3

Yes you can.. Use your phone as google glass.

http://pathofacoder.com/2013/07/19/installing-google-glass-in-an-android-phone/

Cordate

Yeh, I am learning about Google Glass. Did you developed any app or anything with google glass ? – Tacita

Answer 4

here are infos about an available emulator for people without google glass google glass emulator and a project on github Scarigami Mirror API

Terrific

can I use it for Android Development? – Waste

I heard that Scarigami Mirror Api Emulator is really good and people say it is working. – Mondrian

Answer 5

As a matter of fact, I just saw an Engadget article (this morning I think) that announced that the Google Glass API is now live

Additional links from the Engadget article:

1. https://plus.google.com/+GoogleDevelopers/posts/cwWuUY6xYKW (Originaly announced on)
2. https://developers.google.com/glass/ (The ACTUAL Link to the API) :-)

However, as the developer site lists, there is nothing specific for Android. :-(

(Source: https://developers.google.com/glass/downloads/)

The supported platforms at the moment are:

1. Java
2. Python
3. Go
4. PHP
5. .NET
6. Ruby
7. Dart

Surefooted

Answer 6

I've been digging the docs all this morning and as far as I understood, you can see what type of code/objects would be sent to the Glass using the same code on the example https://glass-java-starter-demo.appspot.com/ (code available here https://github.com/googleglass/mirror-quickstart-java )

But an actual emulator that you can see how what the Glass screen would be showing, not really.

Strohben

Answer 7

There is an Unofficial Mirror API that tries to reproduce the behaviour of glass device with the existing Google API's. you can check it here. I have not tested it yet.

http://glass-apps.org/google-glass-emulator

Jabiru

Answer 8

According to google, Glass has to be treated as a unique platform. And the apps developed for glass are called as Glasswares. And they're all almost web-based services which are hosted in GAE. Official statement says,

The Google Mirror API allows you to build web-based services, called Glassware, that interact with Google Glass.

Of-course glass runs on ICS Android 4.0.4 which doesn't mean you can develop glasswares as much as like developing android apps. You need Google's Mirror API to sync data between your glass and glasswares.

And as of now, it's in explorer state and only developers and explorers who has google glass are having access to Mirror API. But as @infoman answered, you can use the Scarigami Mirror API and playground can be acting as your emulator.

Toiletry

Many of these statements are out of date and some of them are even false. You can develop glass apps without the glass, both those using mirror api and GDK. Using GDK is quite similar to developing for android phones, as above answers mentioned you can install Glass apks on a Nexus device I maybe even full ROM image. You are right about what Google said but do remember that they are a marketing firm in the first place and you have to read the fine print. They also need developers to make the platform popular, not just hipsters who take pics of there lunch so they are quite open to developers. – Enclave

Please note : I am not referring to you as "hipsters who take pics of there lunch" I just wanted to point out the type of people who are most into glass. But on the other hand there are already some great developers (they are just not that hyped-up about the device) and many of them got their device by pre-ordering it on Google IO and not from taking part in that viral tweeter campaign. – Enclave