Igor Kalkov-Streitz

Back

Embedded Android Developer & Founder

Talk Title

Building and Distributing Over-the-Air Updates for Android OS

Room

Glass

Date

03.07.2024

Time

16:20 > 40 min

on Twitter

Android-based products are booming in all market segments, thanks to their intuitive UI, a large number of existing software components and broad hardware compatibility, making them a great fit for all types of products. However, Google's fast-paced platform development and challenging security requirements often lead to outdated Android BSPs and make OS-level system updates difficult. This is why OS updates are often neglected, with severe security gaps being seen as a future issue or a problem of other parties'.

This talk illustrates why planning for OS updates from the start is critical for product builders and stresses the importance of secure update distribution. Attendees will learn about key system-level elements like Android's A/B partitions, Recovery, and UpdateEngine. The talk also covers Over-The-Air (OTA) update types and installation methods, focusing on incremental and seamless updates, and provides insights on how to design a custom OTA update infrastructure.

Join Igor to gain practical advice on on the complete journey from building an update package to intalling it on the target device, ensuring security and durability in all your new Android products.

Tags: AOSP, OTA, Security, CI/CD

Speaker Bio

Igor’s experience with the Android platform started at the technical RWTH Aachen University. There, he completed his PhD research focused on expanding the functionality of Android OS for better determinism and real-time capabilities. This is where he discovered his passion for the Android Open Source Project and became fascinated by its possibilities for embedded systems for professional and industrial applications.

Now, with 15+ years of experience in Android R&D, Igor is an expert in custom Android solutions. As the founder and managing director of emteria GmbH, he and the whole emteria team help companies build, deploy, and manage thousands of customized Android devices and keeping them up-to-date with the latest security patches.