GlassAssistant

Use OpenAI's Vision and Transcription capabilities to understand the world around you - now with support for Claude and Gemini!

Building for Google Glass XE24

This guide provides complete instructions for setting up a development environment and building the APK for Google Glass XE24.

Prerequisites

• Linux/macOS/WSL environment
• ~2GB free disk space
• Internet connection for downloading SDKs
• Google Glass with XE24 firmware
• USB cable for Glass connection

Complete Development Environment Setup

Step 1: Install Java JDK 17

# Create tools directory
mkdir -p ~/tools
cd ~/tools

# Download Adoptium OpenJDK 17
wget https://github.com/adoptium/temurin17-binaries/releases/download/jdk-17.0.9%2B9/OpenJDK17U-jdk_x64_linux_hotspot_17.0.9_9.tar.gz -O jdk.tar.gz

# Extract JDK
tar -xzf jdk.tar.gz

# Set environment variables
export JAVA_HOME=~/tools/jdk-17.0.9+9
export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH

# Verify installation
java -version

Step 2: Install Android SDK

# Create Android SDK directory
mkdir -p ~/Android/Sdk
cd ~/Android/Sdk

# Download Android command line tools
wget https://dl.google.com/android/repository/commandlinetools-linux-11076708_latest.zip -O cmdline-tools.zip

# Extract and organize
unzip -q cmdline-tools.zip
mkdir -p cmdline-tools/latest
mv cmdline-tools/* cmdline-tools/latest/ 2>/dev/null || true
rm cmdline-tools.zip

# Set Android environment variables
export ANDROID_HOME=~/Android/Sdk
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools

# Accept licenses (this will prompt you to accept)
yes | $ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin/sdkmanager --sdk_root=$ANDROID_HOME --licenses

# Install required SDK components
$ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin/sdkmanager --sdk_root=$ANDROID_HOME \
  "platform-tools" \
  "platforms;android-19" \
  "platforms;android-34" \
  "build-tools;34.0.0"

Step 3: Configure Project for Glass XE24

The project has been pre-configured with the following Glass-specific settings:

app/build.gradle.kts:

android {
    defaultConfig {
        minSdk = 19  // Google Glass XE24 runs on API 19 (KitKat)
        targetSdk = 19  // Target API 19 for Glass compatibility
        multiDexEnabled = true  // Enable multidex for method count > 64K
    }
}

dependencies {
    implementation("androidx.multidex:multidex:2.0.1")  // Required for API 19
    // ... other dependencies
}

Step 4: Build the APK

# Clone the repository (if not already cloned)
git clone https://github.com/Synople/GlassAssistant.git
cd GlassAssistant

# Set environment variables (if not already set)
export JAVA_HOME=~/tools/jdk-17.0.9+9
export ANDROID_HOME=~/Android/Sdk
export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$PATH

# Make gradlew executable
chmod +x gradlew

# Build debug APK
./gradlew clean assembleDebug

# The APK will be generated at:
# app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

Installing on Google Glass

Enable Developer Mode on Glass

1. Go to Settings → Device info
2. Tap build number 7 times
3. Go back to Settings → Developer options
4. Enable USB debugging

Install the APK

# Connect Glass via USB and verify connection
adb devices

# Install the APK
adb install app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

# Or replace existing installation
adb install -r app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

Troubleshooting

Build Issues

• Out of memory: Increase Gradle heap size in gradle.properties
• SDK not found: Ensure ANDROID_HOME and JAVA_HOME are set correctly
• Multidex errors: Already configured in the project
• License not accepted: Run yes | sdkmanager --licenses again

Installation Issues

• Glass not detected:

  adb kill-server
  adb start-server
  adb devices

• Permission denied: Ensure USB debugging is enabled on Glass
• App crashes: Check logs with adb logcat | grep -i glassassistant

Quick Build Script

Save this as build_glass.sh for one-command builds:

#!/bin/bash
export JAVA_HOME=~/tools/jdk-17.0.9+9
export ANDROID_HOME=~/Android/Sdk
export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$PATH

./gradlew clean assembleDebug

if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "✅ Build successful!"
    echo "APK location: app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk"
    echo "Install with: adb install app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk"
else
    echo "❌ Build failed"
fi

Environment Variables Summary

Add these to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

# Android development
export JAVA_HOME=~/tools/jdk-17.0.9+9
export ANDROID_HOME=~/Android/Sdk
export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin
export PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools

Setup

1. Generate an OpenAI API Key: https://platform.openai.com/api-keys
   • Or get Claude API key: https://console.anthropic.com/
   • Or get Gemini API key: https://aistudio.google.com/apikey
2. Turn the API Key into a QR Code
3. Install and launch the GlassAssistant app on Glass
4. Scan the generated QR Code
5. Hold the camera button and speak for a custom prompt. Otherwise tap Glass to use a default prompt
6. The results are vertically scrollable. Tap Glass or click the camera button to return to the Camera view

Development Notes

• Target Device: Google Glass Explorer Edition with XE24 firmware
• Min Android Version: API 19 (Android 4.4 KitKat)
• Build System: Gradle 8.4 with Kotlin
• Multidex: Enabled for compatibility with API 19
• APK Size: ~8.4 MB (debug build)

Screenshots

License

See LICENSE file for details.