Those who work at Google, or have worked there, tend to make waves. One Googler in particular, ‘Max Braun’, made some headlines when he unveiled his own smart bathroom mirror, running a custom version of Android. The smart mirror boasted a few cool features aimed at making his morning easier and keeping him connected to the things he loves to check up on in the middle of his morning routine. Doubtlessly, the futuristic contraption inspired tons of envy. Until now, those wishing to whip one up for themselves have had to either assemble Max’s rig themselves, or run something off of an HDMI stick such as screen mirroring software linked to another device or a full-on Windows or Linux desktop. Obviously, the lack of a quick and easy solution to getting the intuitive software into a bathroom has, until now, relegated the project to the realm of the proficient or the tolerant. Max Braun’s custom software, optimized for the smart mirror platform, is now open-source and available on GitHub, able to be compiled and run with minimal fuss.
Like the original software, the open-source variant is made to run on an Amazon Fire Stick. Max Braun, upon unveiling the mirror, posted up how it was accomplished and what APIs and apps were used, allowing other users to get the software going manually. This open-source alternative is, obviously, much easier. On the hardware side, Max’s post also listed all the parts used and how to assemble them.
Using the instructions and the open-source release, users must simply create a code for the included Forecast API, then compile the APK using the Android SDK on any computer. Once compiled and signed, just run the APK on your Fire Stick, which requires sideloading. Other Android HDMI sticks will likely work, though the original reference model used a Fire Stick. Once your device has the APK installed and the right hardware is all hooked up, simply run the app to add your mirror to the ever-growing list of household devices hooked into the Internet of Things. Check out the source link for the full source code, if you’d like to compile it for yourself.