auto/testing/index.jd

page.title= Testing Apps for Auto
page.tags="auto", "car", "automotive"
page.article=true

@jd:body

<div id="tb-wrapper">
<div id="tb">
  <h2>Dependencies and Prerequisites</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>Android 5.0 (API level 21) or higher</li>
    <li>Android Auto companion app installed</li>
  </ul>
  <h2>In this document</h2>
  <ol>
      <li><a href="#install">Installing the DHU</a></li>
      <li><a href="#running-dhu">Running the DHU</a></li>
      <li><a href="#dhu-commands">Issuing DHU Commands</a></li>
  </ol>
</div>
</div>


<p>
  Testing your Auto app ensures that users do not encounter unexpected results or
   have a poor experience when interacting with your apps. Android now provides
    Desktop Head Unit (DHU), a testing tool for Auto apps that lets you test
    pre-released versions of your Android Auto apps without having to work from
    your car.</P>

<p>The Desktop Head Unit (DHU) enables your development machine to emulate an
Android Auto head unit, so you can easily run and test Android Auto apps.
The DHU runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux hosts and replaces previous Android Auto
 simulators, such as the Android Media Browser and Messaging simulators.</p>


  <p class ="note"><strong>Note:</strong> It's important that you test your auto
   app for the criteria listed on <a href={@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/auto.html>
    Auto app quality </a> page prior to submitting to Google Play for review.
  </p>
  <p>
   This lesson teaches you how to install and run the DHU on your development
   machine for testing your apps. Once you’ve
  installed the DHU, you can test your Android Auto apps by connecting your phone
  and workstation via USB.

  <h2 id ="install"> Installing the DHU</h2>
  <p>Follow these steps to install the DHU on your development machine:</p>
  <li>Enable developer mode on your mobile device, as described in
    <a href="{@docRoot}tools/device.html#developer-device-options">Enabling On-device
    Developer Options</a>. </li>
  <li>Compile your app in your development environment and install your app on
    a physical mobile device running Android 5.0 (API level 21) or higher. To check the
    version of Android on a Nexus device, go to
    <strong>Settings &gt; About phone</strong> (or <strong>About tablet</strong>) <strong>&gt;
    Android version</strong>.</li>

  <li>Install the
     <a class="external-link"
     href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.projection.gearhead&hl=en"
     >Android Auto app</a> on the mobile device.</li>
  <li>Open the <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/sdk-manager.html">SDK Manager</a> and
    download the DHU package <strong>Android Auto Desktop Head Unit emulator</strong> from the
    <em>SDK Tools</em> tab. The DHU installs in the <code>&lt;sdk&gt;/extras/google/auto/</code>
    directory.</li>
  <li>If you are running the DHU on Linux, you must also install
    the portaudio, libpng, sdl2, and sdl2_ttf libraries.
    The procedure to do this varies depending on your Linux distribution. For example, on
    Debian-derived Linux distributions, you can install the libraries with this command:

<pre class="no-pretty-print">
$ sudo apt-get install libsdl2-2.0-0 libsdl2-ttf-2.0-0 libportaudio2 libpng12-0
</pre>

  </li>
</ol>

<div class="cols">
  <div class="col-6">
    <img src="{@docRoot}images/training/auto-desktop-head-unit-context-menu-enabled.png"
        alt="" >
    <p class="img-caption">
      <strong>Figure 1.</strong> Context menu with developer options.
    </p>
  </div>

  <div class="col-6">
    <img src="{@docRoot}images/training/auto-desktop-head-unit-server-running.png"
        alt="" >
    <p class="img-caption">
      <strong>Figure 2.</strong> Notification that the head unit server is running.
    </p>
  </div>
</div> <!-- end cols-->


<h2 id="running-dhu">Running the DHU</h2>

<p>Run the DHU by connecting your mobile device to a development machine and
setting up a connection to the head unit server over <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/adb.html">Android Debug Bridge
  (ADB)</a>. Follow these steps to set up tunneling and start the DHU:</p>

<ol>
  <li>On the mobile device, enable Android Auto developer mode by starting the Android Auto
    companion app, and then tapping the <i>Android Auto</i> toolbar title 10 times.
    This step is only required the first time you run the companion app.
  </li>
  <li>If the server is not already running, select <strong>Start head unit server</strong>
     from the Android Auto menu.
    <p>On the device, a foreground service appears in the notification area. </p>
  </li>

  <li>In the Android Auto app, make sure the <strong>Only connect to known cars</strong> option
    is disabled.</li>

  <li>Connect the mobile device to the development machine via USB.</li>

  <li>Make sure the mobile device has its screen unlocked, otherwise it cannot launch the DHU.</li>

  <li>On the development machine, run the following {@code adb} command to
    forward socket connections from the
    development machine's port 5277 to the same port number on the Android device.
    This configuration allows the DHU to connect to the head unit server running on your phone over
    a TCP socket.
    <pre class="no-pretty-print">$ adb forward tcp:5277 tcp:5277</pre>
  </li>

  <li>Start the DHU by running the command <code>desktop-head-unit.exe</code> (on Windows)
    or <code>./desktop-head-unit</code> (on Mac or Linux) from the
    <code>&lt;sdk&gt;/extras/google/auto/</code> directory.

<pre class="no-pretty-print">$ cd &lt;sdk&gt;/extras/google/auto
$ ./desktop-head-unit</pre>

    <p>
      By default, the head unit server connects over port 5277. To override the host or port
      (for example, to forward over SSH), use the
      <code>desktop-head-unit --adb &lt;[localhost:]port&gt;</code> flag, as in
      the following example:
    </p>

    <pre class="no-pretty-print">$ ./desktop-head-unit --adb 5999</pre>
    <p>
    By default, the DHU emulates the most common form of Android Auto-compatible
    head unit, which uses a touch screen user interface. You can simulate user
    touches by clicking the DHU with a mouse. To emulate head units which use
    a rotary controller for input, you can use the <code>-i controller</code> flag,
   as in this example:
   </p>
   <pre class="no-pretty-print">$ ./desktop-head-unit -i controller</pre>
   <p>
   When the DHU is in rotary-controller mode you can simulate controller
   operations by using keyboard shortcuts, as described in <a href=
   "#cmd-bindings">DHU commands and key bindings</a>. If the DHU is in rotary
   controller mode, it ignores mouse clicks; you must operate Android Auto with
   the simulated rotary controller operations.
  </p>
  </li>
</ol>


<div class="figure" style="width:432px">

    <img src="{@docRoot}images/training/auto-desktop-head-unit-wkst-launch.png"
        alt="" >
    <p class="img-caption">
      <strong>Figure 4.</strong> DHU launches on the development machine.
    </p>
</div>

    <img src="{@docRoot}images/training/auto-desktop-head-unit-launch.png"
        alt="" >
    <p class="img-caption">
      <strong>Figure 3.</strong> Android Auto launches on the mobile device.
    </p>

<p>
  After you set up and start the DHU, you can run DHU commands from the command
  line to run and test your app from the terminal. You can also run these commands
   by using keyboard shortcuts.
</p>

<h2 id="dhu-commands">Issuing DHU Commands</h2>

<p>
  DHU commands allow you to test your app with Android Auto features, such as
  playing voice input or switching between night and day display mode. You can issue commands to
  the DHU by running commands from the terminal window where you launched DHU.
  You can also issue commands by selecting the DHU window and
  using keyboard shortcuts. The DHU commands
  and key bindings for all controls are listed in <a href="#cmd-bindings">DHU
  commands and key bindings</a>.
</p>


<h3 id="day-night">Switching between day and night mode</h3>

<p>
  Android Auto supports different color schemes for day and night. You should test your app in both
  day and night mode. You can switch between night and day mode in either of the
  following ways:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>Run the command <code>daynight</code> in the terminal where you launched the DHU.
  </li>

  <li>Select the DHU window and press the <strong>N</strong> key.
  </li>
</ul>

<h3>Microphone testing</h3>

<p>The DHU supports using a microphone for voice input. You can also instruct the DHU to treat
a pre-recorded voice track as input, as if the DHU had heard the track through the microphone.</p>

<p>To use a pre-recorded sound file as input, enter this command: </p>
<pre class="no-pretty-print">
$ mic play &lt;sound_file_path&gt;/&lt;sound_file&gt;.wav
</pre>

<p>For your convenience, we have provided the following sound files for common
voice commands. These sound files are installed in the
<code>&lt;sdk&gt;/extras/google/auto/voice/</code> directory.</p>

<dl>
  <dt>
    <code>exitnav.wav</code>
  </dt>

  <dd>
    "Exit navigation."
  </dd>

  <dt>
    <code>navgoogle.wav</code>
  </dt>

  <dd>
    "Navigate to 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View."
  </dd>

  <dt>
    <code>navsoh.wav</code>
  </dt>

  <dd>
    "Navigate to Sydney Opera House."
  </dd>

  <dt>
    <code>nextturn.wav</code>
  </dt>

  <dd>
    "When is my next turn?"
  </dd>

  <dt>
    <code>showalternateroute.wav</code>
  </dt>

  <dd>
    "Show alternate routes.""
  </dd>

  <dt>
    <code>howlong.wav</code>
  </dt>

  <dd>
    "How long until I get there?"
  </dd>

  <dt>
    <code>navhome.wav</code>
  </dt>

  <dd>
    "Navigate to home."
  </dd>

  <dt>
    <code>navwork.wav</code>
  </dt>

  <dd>
    "Navigate to work.""
  </dd>

  <dt>
    <code>pause.wav</code>
  </dt>

  <dd>
    "Pause music."
  </dd>

  <dt>
    <code>showtraffic.wav</code>
  </dt>

  <dd>
    "Show traffic."
  </dd>
</dl>
<h3 id="cmd-bindings">DHU commands and key bindings</h3>

<p>The DHU supports the following commands.</p>

<p class="table-caption" id="table-commands"><strong>Table 1.</strong> Commands and key bindings</p>
<table>
<tr>
  <th>Category</th>
  <th>Command</th>
  <th>Subcommand</th>
  <th>Argument(s)</th>
  <th>Keyboard Shortcut(s)</th>
  <th>Description</th>
</tr>

<!--system-->

<tr>
<td rowspan="4">System</td>
<td>help</td>
<td></td>
<td>[command]</td>
<td></td>
<td>Shows the full command set. Specifying a command name (for example, <code>help day</code>)
  causes the system to show help for that command.</td>
</tr>

<tr>

<td>quit</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>Alt+q</td>
<td>Quits the head unit.</td>
</tr>

<tr>

<td>sleep</td>
<td></td>
<td>[seconds]</td>
<td></td>
<td>Sleeps for one second. Specifying an argument (for example, <code>sleep 30</code>) causes the
system to sleep the specified number of seconds. This command
is useful if you are writing scripts for the DHU. (You can run a script by using I/O redirection
from the command line: <code>./desktop-head-unit &lt; script.txt</code> loads commands from the
file <code>script.txt</code>.)</td>
</tr>

<tr>

<td>screenshot</td>
<td></td>
<td>filename.png</td>
<td></td>
<td>Saves a screenshot to <code>filename.png</code>.</td>
</tr>


<!--microphone-->

<tr>
<td rowspan="3">Microphone</td>
<td rowspan="3">mic</td>
<td>begin</td>
<td></td>
<td>m </td>
<td>Activates the microphone (equivalent to clicking the steering wheel's microphone button) and
waits for input from the computer microphone.</td>
</tr>

<tr>


<td>play</td>
<td>filename.wav</td>
<td></td>
<td>Causes the DHU to treat <code>filename.wav</code> as voice input, as if it had heard that sound
  through the microphone. You do not hear the sound file being played, but you do hear
  the response from Android Auto.</td>
</tr>

<tr>


<td>repeat</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>Repeats the last <code>mic play</code> command, as if you had called <code>mic play</code>
  again with the same sound file parameter.</td>
</tr>

<!--Input-->

<tr>
<td rowspan="7">Input</td>
<td rowspan="6">dpad</td>
<td>up <br> down <br> left <br> right</td>
<td></td>
<td>Arrow keys</td>
<td>Simulates moving the rotary controller.</td>
</tr>

<tr>


<td>soft left <br> soft right</td>
<td></td>
<td>Shift+Arrow keys</td>
<td>Simulates pressing the side buttons available on some rotary controllers.</td>
</tr>

<tr>


<td>click</td>
<td></td>
<td>Return</td>
<td>Simulates pressing the rotary controller.</td>
</tr>

<tr>


<td>back</td>
<td></td>
<td>Backspace</td>
<td>Simulates pressing the <strong>back</strong> button available below some rotary
  controllers.</td>
</tr>

<tr>


<td>rotate left <br> rotate right</td>
<td></td>
<td>1 <br> 2</td>
<td>Simulates rotating the rotary controller left (counter-clockwise) or right (clockwise).</td>
</tr>

<tr>


<td>flick left <br> flick right</td>
<td></td>
<td>Shift+1 <br> Shift+2</td>
<td>Simulates a fast spin of the rotary controller to the left (counter-clockwise) or right
  (clockwise).</td>
</tr>

<tr>

<td>tap</td>
<td></td>
<td>x y</td>
<td></td>
<td>Simulates a touch event at the specified coordinates. For example, <code>tap 50 100</code></td>
</tr>


<!--Day/Night-->

<tr>
<td rowspan="3">Day/Night</td>
<td>day</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>Shift+n</td>
<td>Activates day mode (high brightness, full color).</td>
</tr>

<tr>

<td>night</td>
<td></td>
<td> </td>
<td>Ctrl+n </td>
<td>Activates night mode (low brightness, high contrast).</td>
</tr>

<tr>

<td>daynight</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td>n </td>
<td>Toggles current day/night mode.</td>
</tr>

</table>


<h2 id="auto-simulators">Media Browser and Messaging Simulators</h2>

<p class="caution"><strong>Important:</strong> Use of the Android Media Browser and Messaging
Simulators for testing Android Auto apps is deprecated. Instead, we recommend using the
Desktop Head Unit, which enables your development machine to act as if it were an Android Auto head
unit.</p>

<p>To get the simulators, open the
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/sdk-manager.html">SDK Manager</a> and download
them from <strong>Extras &gt; Android Auto API Simulators</strong>.</p>

<p>Before you begin testing, compile your app in your development environment.
Install your app and the Android simulator for the features you want to test
(that is, audio or messaging) on a physical or virtual device running Android
5.0 (API level 21) or higher. To check the version of Android on the device, go
to <strong>Settings &gt; About phone</strong> (or <strong>About tablet</strong>)
<strong>&gt; Android Version</strong>.</p>

<h3 id="testing-audio-apps">Testing audio apps</h3>
<p>To run and test audio apps:</p>

<ol>
<li>Install the Android Media Browser simulator
({@code &lt;sdk&gt;/extras/google/simulators/media-browser-simulator.apk}) on
the test device. You can do this using
the <a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/adb.html#move">adb</a> command line tool.</li>
<li>Enable <a href="{@docRoot}tools/device.html#developer-device-options">
developer options</a> on the test device.</li>
<li>Install your app on the test device.</li>
<li>Launch the Android Media Browser simulator to see how your audio app
appears in Auto. If your app does not appear, stop the simulator from
<strong>Settings &gt; Apps</strong> and restart it.</li>
</ol>


<h3 id="testing-messaging-apps">Testing messaging apps</h3>
<p>To run and test messaging apps:</p>

<ol>
<li>Install the Android Messaging simulator
  ({@code &lt;sdk&gt;/extras/google/simulators/messaging-simulator.apk})
on the test device. You can do this using the
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/adb.html#move">adb</a> command line tool.</li>
<li>Enable the simulator to read notifications posted on the system:
<ol type="a">
  <li>Enable <a href="{@docRoot}tools/device.html#developer-device-options">
developer options</a> on the test device.</li>
  <li>Click <strong>Settings &gt; Sounds &amp; Notifications &gt; Notification
    Access</strong> and check the box labeled
    <strong>Messaging Simulator</strong>.</li>
</ol>
<li>Install your app on the test device.</li>
<li>Launch the Android Messaging Simulator to see how your messaging app appears
in Auto. If your app does not appear, stop the simulator from
<strong>Settings &gt; Apps</strong> and restart it.</li>
</ol>