New Android Experiments include ability to play ‘Pac-Man’ from a home screen

android experiments pac man — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Android Experiments have been running for a few years now and, basically, consist of new and interesting inventions people can come up with on the Android operating system. Every now and then, some cool Experiments pop up but with Google I/O on its way, a new wave was just posted on the Android Experiments website.

Some of the new Experiments are interesting, and there are quite a few which you can see for yourself at its Android Experiments website.

For example, the first comes in the form of a set of cameras and machine learning algorithms that can use the Android Things operating system to detect animals in the wild. If a bear walks past, for example, the system can detect the animal, take a photo, and record environmental data like temperature and air pressure.

For those slightly more into gaming, one Experiment is called Home Screen Arcade, which uses your home screen’s wallpaper as the backdrop for arcade games. You can place different widgets on the home screen to act as controls for the game and there are a few different games to play. For example, the video shows the user playing classic games like pinball, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders. However, the concept could potentially be applied to all kinds of different games. Check out the video below to see the idea in action.

Home Screen Arcade explainer

Another interesting Experiment is called Shortstories, which is a series of text-based games that use the Android user interface. For example, you can make choices in the game by using Android quick-access shortcuts and the story will come through in the form of a series of notifications. It is kind of a cool way to use the Android UI. You can see the Shortstories Experiment in action in the video below.

ShortStories - An Android Experiment

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