[Software] Google will allow you to use an Android smartphone as a webcam via USB cable connection

[Lucifer.]

Google continues to work on the function that will allow an Android smartphone to be used as a webcam for the computer in the latest beta versions of Android 14 , a feature that will appear when connecting the device to the PC via a USB cable.Until now, if you want to use a terminal's camera as a webcam alone, you need to download a third-party application to establish this connection. However, the company has worked to simplify this process to integrate the function into its operating system.

 

Last February, the analyst Mishaal Rahman discovered that the latest update to the Android operating system included in its code a series of references to this feature and commented that this novelty would require "access to all the services that a normal application needs access", as well as read and write permission for nodes/dev/video which is how the linux kernel mounts the UVC device".

 

   Now, Rahman has once again shared information about Google's progress for this feature through a post on Twitter , as he hasbeen able to verify by analyzing the code of the most recent versions of the Android 14 beta.Rahman explained that this webcam connection mode is known internally as DeviceAsWebcam (DAW) and that it will work by connecting the mobile device to a computer via a USB connection. Thus, after choosing the webcam option once it has been connected, the mobile can be used in video calls from any application compatible with "any desktop operating system", such as Windows or Mac.

 

   At the moment, the analyst has pointed out that the DAW application is "not present" in the current beta versions of Android 14 and therefore this functionality cannot be used yet. However, as he has been able to verify, the new option is shown within the preferences menu, which appears when making a USB connection from the 'smartphone' to a computer.In addition, it has detailed that when the user selects the webcam option, the DAW application will set the USB setting to USB Video Class (UVC), which refers to the ability of some devices to broadcast video like a webcam or similar equipment does. .

 

https://www.europapress.es/portaltic/software/noticia-google-permitira-utilizar-smartphone-android-webcam-conexion-cable-usb-20230529131855.html