New Roku Developer IDK Released by Roku
Roku May Soon Control Your Thermostat or Turn on Your Coffee Pot
Roku recently announced their plans for a Personal Use Development Kit to allow your Roku to do much more than just stream TV. Now developers can build apps, games and smart home apps on Roku.
This new software will let Roku media streamers do much more than just stream TV shows and movies, The company is opening up their media streaming platform to a wide range of apps. Keeping up with competitors like Apple TV and Android who's streaming devices already can interface with a wide range of smart devices. Roku is bringing this to their platform as well.
A new independent developer kit is a toolbox for developers to build a new slew of apps to control "The Internet of Things."
What is The Interent of Things?
The Internet of things - describes physical objects that are embedded with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies, and that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks. Wikipedia.
This new developer software will only work on their current line of media players. Roku TVs and Streambars won't support these new smart apps. Older Roku players will not support this either.
Other features of the new IDK will allow developers to build games that interface with a Roku remote control.
Roku recently told The Verge:
“Developers can use the IDK and code in their favorite programming language to create applications beyond streaming channels. For example, developers can build applications in JavaScript that pull together data from various sources, effectively turning their TV monitor into a snapshot view of their daily news, weather, calendar appointments, and even traffic conditions for their office commute.”
These apps will not be supported or distributed in the Roku Channel Store. So developers will need to promote and share these apps on their own.
Linux is the operating system required to build these apps. To learn more about the requirements, be sure to check out Roku's IDK FAQ.
IDK Developers can also learn more on their Roku IDK Getting Started Guide
