Getting Started with Tegra Android

Welcome to Tegra Android Development

Setting up an Android development environment can be a complex task. NVIDIA simplifies this for all Android developers with a single installer that manages this complexity for you on Windows 7 (32/64-bit), Mac OS X, and Ubuntu Linux (32 bit/x64). The Tegra Android Development Pack (TADP) installs all software tools required to develop for Android on NVIDIA’s Tegra platform, Tegra Android sample code, and is the perfect companion for developing native applications for Tegra DevKits. This suite of developer tools is targeted at Tegra devices, but will configure a development environment that will work with almost any Android device.

Development tools installed include the following: Android SDK, Android NDK, JDK, Cygwin, Eclipse, CDT, ADT, Apache Ant, and NVIDIA Debug Manager for Eclipse.

Join the Tegra Registered Developer Program

The Tegra Registered Developer Program is an important part of NVIDIA's commitment to the Tegra Developer community. This program gives NVIDIA a way to provide pre-release information and content to its most important developers, and enable two-way communication about issues and feature requests. It also provides you with the latest Tegra news, updates, developer tools, samples, OS images, and tips and tricks that aren’t available to the public. Plus, all development tools are freely available to members of the Tegra Registered Developer Program.

Sign up for free access to the Tegra Developer Registered Program. The application process includes creating a Developer Zone account. If you already have a Developer Zone account, start here instead.

Downloads and Resources

Download the latest the complete list of available Tegra Android resources at Tegra Downloads and Resources page. If you are a new Tegra developer or are simply looking to get your Tegra developer kit setup and running, we recommend visiting the Tegra Downloads and Resources page, especially for the Tegra Android Developer Pack (TADP). In order to download these files, you must be a member of the Tegra Registered Developer Program. To join, simply apply here for a free account. The application process includes creating a Developer Zone account. If you already have a Developer Zone account, start here instead.

Select the appropriate operating system environment to begin your download.

Note: Note that if you are on a corporate network that uses a proxy server, the download process may fail. To work around this, you can set environment value http_proxy manually to use the proxy for downloading.
For example, you can set http_proxy= http://10.19.216.147:portnum or http_proxy= http://username:password@10.19.216.147:portnum. After setting this environment variable, the installer will use the proxy to download the TADP components.

Guides and Documentation

Read the latest guides and documentation on how to get started with developing on NVIDIA Tegra. General Android development information, hardware setup how-tos, performance analyzation and debugging tools guides, technical references, etc., are all available at your disposal.

Tegra Android Toolkit – Introduction to Tegra Android development using the Tegra Android Toolkit.

Tegra Hardware Guides – Steps to setup your Tegra hardware platform for development.

Develop Tegra Android NDK Applications – How to use Nsight Tegra, Visual Studio Edition to develop Tegra Android NDK apps.

How to Analyze Performance – Analyze the performance of apps with PerfHUD ES and other tools.

Tools Documentation – Documentation for Tegra Profiler, PerfHUD ES, and other tools.

Technical Reference – Reference technical information on Tegra platforms.

Develop for NVIDIA® SHIELD™ – NVIDIA® SHIELD™-centric landing page for all development needs.

Recent Presentations

GPU Technology Conference 2013 – Programming Project Shield & Tegra 4

GPU Technology Conference 2013 – Optimizing Tegra Apps and Games Using Unity

GPU Technology Conference 2013 – Performance and Debugging Tools for High-performance Android Applications

Game Developer Conference 2013 – Tegra 4 & Project SHIELD: Redefining AFK

How to Install TADP

After you download and install the Tegra Android Development Pack you should have a fully-configured Android development environment ready for development. The Tegra Android Toolkit installs additional Tegra specific tools required to do in-depth debugging and analysis on Tegra devices.

If you are developing on a Tegra Development Kit, please download the latest OS Image and flash the device. This will ensure you have the most up-to-date system with the latest optimizations.

What's Included in TADP

The Tegra Android Developer Pack 2.0 includes the following tools:

Android Development

The latest versions of:

Android SDK

Android APIs

Android NDK

Google USB Driver

Android Support Library

JDK

Cygwin

Eclipse

Apache Ant

Tegra Libraries and Tools

Nsight Tegra 1.3, Visual Studio Edition [Windows Only]

NVIDIA Debug Manager for Android NDK

PerfHUD ES 2.0

Tegra Profiler 1.3

OpenCV for Tegra 2.4.5

PhysX 3.2 for Android

Nexus 7 Tools Support

The pack provides sample applications, support libraries and updated documentation for the following Android game development topics:

Pure native gaming on Android with NativeActivity.

Getting Android application lifecycle just right.

Tips for (and benefits of) mixing a little Java into your native Android game for better integration.

Supporting game controllers, sensors, multi-touch, and device rotation.

Reporting a Bug

If you encounter an error installing any of these packages, please report the issue via the Tegra Registered Developer Program bug reporting system: https://developer.nvidia.com/rdp/bugs/tegra-registered-developer-program-bug-report.

Note: You must be logged into your DevZone account to report a bug.

How to Install Drivers

Drivers can be found in the following location:

C:\NVPACK\Drivers\

NVIDIA devices are generally compatible with Google's Android drivers, except that Google drivers will not have the additional device identifiers for automatic recognition. Instead, you will need to apply drivers manually through the Device Manager in your operating system's Control Panel.

To install drivers, do the following:

It is recommended that the user re-scan their device list.

Locate the device in the hardware list. Typically it will have a yellow triangle with an exclamation point, indicating that it is not fully recognized yet.

Note: The device's name may appear different between standard Android Debugging Interface mode and Boot Loader Interface or fastboot mode. The device will not appear as fastboot, unless it has been specially booted into this mode.

Right-click on the device and select to update the drivers.
Select Browse my computer for driver software.
Select Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
Select Have Disk….
Select Browse.
Navigate to the driver folder.

If you are using Windows 8:
```
C:\NVPACK\Drivers\Win8\
```
If you are using Windows 7, Vista, or XP:
```
C:\NVPACK\Drivers\Win7+Vista+XP\
```
If you are installing drivers for SHIELD:
```
C:\NVPACK\Drivers\SHIELD\
```
Select android_winusb.inf.
If the device appears as FastBoot or Android Bootloader Interface, then select Android Bootloader Interface. Otherwise select Android Composite ADB Interface.
If you are using Windows 8, you may receive a warning that this driver may not be compatible with the device. Select yes to continue.
This issue will be fixed in future releases.
If you are using Windows 7, Vista, or XP, you may receive a warning that the driver is not signed. Select yes to continue.
This issue will be fixed in future releases.

Next Steps

Application Development and Debugging (CPU)

To start developing your Android application, or to debug an existing project in an integrated development environment, launch the Eclipse IDE, found here:

C:\NVPACK\eclipse

You can also debug your applications using Nsight Tegra, which can be launched through Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, or Visual Studio 2012.

Application Profiling (CPU)

To profile your native Tegra Android application, use the Tegra Profiler sampling profiler, found here:

C:\NVPACK\tegra-profiler

Graphics Debugging and Profiling (GPU)

To optimize your OpenGL ES 2.0 applications on Tegra Android, use the PerfHUD ES tool, typically found here:

C:\NVPACK\perfhud_es

For more information on PerfHUD ES, see PerfHUD ES: An Introduction.