This morning I’ve read bad news for the open source community. Jean-Baptiste Quéru, leader of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) has decided to quit the project because AOSP cannot run on the latest Nexus 7 as Qualcomm (lawyers) impeded the project, and Google is unable to released factory images or necessary binary drivers for the GPU. But there’s also good news, as Nvidia has just released source code and binaries to allow developers to fully build an Android image for its SHIELD gaming console.
If you want to build an image for the latest image available, following the steps below.
- Get the code
1234mkdir ~/shield-open-sourcecd ~/shield-open-sourcerepo init -u git://nv-tegra.nvidia.com/manifest/android/binary.git -b rel-roth-ota-1-partner -m secureos/jb_roth.xmlrepo sync -j5 - Build the Android image (Provided you’ve already setup your Linux PC do build AOSP):
123456789cd ~/shield-open-sourceexport TOP=`pwd`cd vendor/nvidia/licensed-binaries./extract-nv-bins.shcd $TOP. build/envsetup.shsetpathslunch thor-userdebugmp dev
Done (mp dev took about one hour for my machine). You should now have the required binary images in out/target/product/roth/ directory. Enter fastboot mode before flashing the binaries by one of two methods:
- Software method – Boot to android home screen, connect the device to Linux terminal, and type: “adb reboot bootloader” in terminal
- Hardware method – Turn off the device, and press and hold “Back”+”Home”+”SHIELD” buttons until device boots
To flash images from this build to your SHIELD, run the following commands from the same terminal where you did your build:
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 |
cd $OUT fastboot flash recovery recovery.img fastboot flash boot boot.img fastboot flash system system.img fastboot flash userdata userdata.img fastboot flash dtb tegra114-roth.dtb |
You’re all done at this stage.
In case you want to revert to the factory image, Nvidia also provide a factory image recovery data file package that you need to extract, and flash as per the instructions above.
Via Liliputing
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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1-sad
2-nice
Google should have just hired the Freedreno developer and 1-2 other people and used that for their Nexus images but they don’t really have the balls and don’t want to upset Qualcomm.
No worries though some fully open source ( including GPU ) Intel Merifield SOCs are comming real soon and then “The Empire Strikes Back” with their x86 “death star” architecture too :).
It’s funny, it’s ironic but it’s true. If someone told me a couple of years ago that I’d be anxiously waiting for a x86 smartphone SOC I would have called him crazy.
As for this Nvidia Shield thingy all’s good but it’ll be hard for me to spend this much on a gaming console. I was looking at some Chinese ones under $100. I only with those were open source …. sadly they’re not.
Do you think we can now install the SHIELD rom on another hardware than the SHIELD controller?
On a 10″ tegra4 tablet for instance…
@thorfin
Not directly. This would require some work to adapt the kernel (and the bootloader?) to the tablet hardware.
The shield has even landed on DX. For $500, It’s more like PriceExtreme, as you can find it on Amazon for $250.