USB OTG (USB On The Go)
Project By
Sourav Malakar
USB OTG
• Sometimes the most useful things have the
dullest names, and that's definitely the case
with USB OTG: it's in stacks of devices and can
do some really clever stuff, but many people
have never heard of it. To help bring you up to
speed, this is our guide to USB OTG and what
you can do with it.
USB OTG (USB On The Go)
• USB OTG (USB On The Go) is a standard that
enables mobile devices to talk to one another.
Traditionally mobile devices could only connect to
a PC by USB, but USB OTG makes it possible for
devices to connect directly to each other.
• And that's not all USB OTG can do. By enabling our
device to act as a USB host – that is, to be the boss
of other devices that we connect to it – we can use
additional hardware such as storage, keyboards or
even musical instruments together with our
handset.
What We Can Do with USB OTG
• Connect Flash Drives and External Hard Drives
Obviously,external
storage is at the top of
this list. Just plug it in
and you’ll be ready to
go. USB drives are the
easiest to connect.
What We Can Do with USB OTG
• Play With Video Game Controllers
The Xbox 360
Controller works
fantastically with
Android devices
with USB OTG.
It’s literally as
simple as plug-
and-play to start
gaming with a
controller.
What We Can Do with USB OTG
• Control Android with Keyboards and Mice
OTG’s open nature makes it easy to connect just about
anything with it. If you want to use your tablet as a laptop, a
keyboard and mouse is integral to the experience. You’ll be
happy to know that OTG works well with most wired
keyboards and mice.
What We Can Do with USB OTG
• Print Directly from a Printer
Much like keyboards, printers with a standard plug-and-
play USB work well with Android devices, so you can start
printing without requiring a wireless connection and
without transferring anything to a PC first.
What We Can Do with USB OTG
•Control our DSLR Camera
Photographers will love
this one. Your Android or
any other device can be
wired up to your DSLR
camera and turned into a
giant livescreen, complete
with the ability to capture,
focus, control shutter
speed, and much more
with the help of OTG
connection.
Protocols
• The USB OTG and Embedded Host Supplement to the USB 2.0
specification introduced three new communication protocols :
(i) Attach Detection Protocol (ADP) :
Allows an OTG device, embedded host or
USB device to determine attachment status in the absence
of power on the USB bus, enabling both insertion-based
behavior and the capability to display attachment status. It
does so by periodically measuring the capacitance on the
USB port to determine whether there is another device
attached, a dangling cable, or no cable
Protocols
(ii) Session Request Protocol (SRP) :
Allows both communicating devices
to control when the link's power session is
active; in standard USB, only the host is
capable of doing so. That allows fine control
over the power consumption, which is very
important for battery-operated devices such
as cameras and mobile phones.
Protocols
(iii) Host Negotiation Protocol (HNP) :
Allows the two devices to exchange
their host/peripheral roles, provided both are
OTG dual-role devices. By using HNP for
reversing host/peripheral roles, the USB OTG
device is capable of acquiring control of data-
transfer scheduling. Thus, any OTG device is
capable of initiating data-transfer over USB OTG
bus.
How to Connect with a USB OTG
cable
1. Connect a flash drive (or SD reader with card)
to the full-size USB female end of the adapter.
2. Connect OTG cable to your device (Example :
Phone)
3. Swipe down from the top to show the
notification drawer.
4. Tap USB Drive.
Advantages of USB OTG
• USB OTG allows to connect two devices without the
need for a computer as a medium.
• It’s not just about inter connectivity of the two
devices. USB OTG also allows you to take control of
everything using a single device, which may be
anything. By enabling your smart phone (for
example) as the host, you can now use a dozen of
peripheral devices including keyboards, mouse,
musical instruments and even a game pad.
• USB OTG allows external data storage devices to
provide extra memory to the phone or tablet.
• Charge one device with another.
Disadvantages of USB OTG
• Loss of privacy in some cases
• External virus attacks.
Unknown USB OTG Cable Uses
1. USB Fan : Yes, you can connect small USB mini
Fan with your Android phone via USB OTG
Cable.
Unknown USB OTG Cable Uses
2. USB Light : Yes, you can connect USB based
lamp to your Android Smartphone, so,
certainly this will come the handy way you
don’t have electricity and this is way stronger
than your Phone’s flashlight.
Unknown USB OTG Cable Uses
3. LAN Cable : You can connect a LAN cable to your Android
Phone, for instance, you don’t have WiFi in your Home, but
you have a Broadband Connection, To connect broadband
connection to your mobile you need a special connector
called USB To LAN.
Unknown USB OTG Cable Uses
4. USB Mouse : You can connect your USB
mouse to your android Phone.
USB OTG (USB On The Go)
Some sites for you to check out :
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_On-The-Go
• http://www.tomsguide.com/us/connect-usb-drive-to-
android,news-21213.html
• http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/what-is-usb-otg-5-cool-
ways-use-android/
