Zebra Screen Blank

Zebra Screen Blank 1.5

Overview

Zebra Screen Blank is an Android app designed for Zebra devices mounted in forklifts. The "headless" app uses device sensors to detect motion, automatically blanking the screen to prevent driver distraction and help reduce the potential for injury. When the vehicle stops, ZSB automatically restores the screen with no user interaction required. The ZSB app and its settings are installed and managed remotely, and are secured with the Zebra Secure Storage Manager solution.

image The Zebra Screen Blank app automatically blanks and restores the screen based on vehicle motion; delays for each can be customized by individual device or across the enterprise.

Main Features

  • "Headless" app launched initially via intent
  • Runs automatically at boot-up after first launch
  • Immediately begins detecting motion when device is connected to a power source
  • Turns screen off when motion is detected
  • Turns screen on when the movement stops
  • Installation and management secured through Zebra Secure Storage Manager
  • Remotely configurable through StageNow or an EMM system with Zebra OEMConfig
  • Configurable features:
    • Service enable/disable
    • Delay screen blanking after motion detection (default = 2 seconds)
    • Delay screen restoration after absence of motion is detected (default = 4 seconds)

Requirements

Supported Devices

For devices running Android 14, minimum LifeGuard software updates required:

Device Platform (models) Required Update Support Page
6375 (ET40, ET45)† 14-09-18.00-UG-U180 (or later) ET40 with Android 14
ET45 with Android 14

For devices running Android 13, minimum LifeGuard software updates required:

Device Platform (models) Required Update Support Page
6375 (ET40, ET45)† 13-30-18.00-TG-U00 (or later) ET40 with Android 13
ET45 with Android 13

† Purchase of a Mobility DNA License required. Learn more.

Installation

The basic steps for installing the Zebra Screen Blank app are listed below, with some specifics for StageNow. These steps can be modified for use with a company's own EMM system with Zebra OEMConfig installed. For complete installation instructions, please refer to StageNow or the documentation for the EMM system in use with Zebra OEMConfig.

Basic installation steps

  1. Download the Zebra Screen Blank app from the Zebra Support Portal.

  2. Install the app on supported device(s) using the established installation procedure for Android apps. Learn about installing with StageNow.

  3. Push the desired config file to device through Zebra SSM. See file parameters below. Learn more about File Manager and installing with SSM.

  4. Paste the contents of the ZSB signature file into the signature field and save it into the Profile as shown below.
    A signature file can be created using Zebra's App Sig Tools. See below. image File Manager section of StageNow Profile to push config file from device to SSM.
    Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.

  5. Trigger an intent to launch the app. See intent parameters below. image Example Intent section of a StageNow Profile.
    Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.

Once the Profile is created and deployed to device(s), Zebra Screen Blank is installed, its config file is pushed to SSM, and the app is launched on the target device(s).

App Sig Tools

For added security, Zebra recommends deploying configuration files using Zebra SSM, which secures files using the app's signature. The ZSB app reads configuration data from files securely stored in SSM, which validates the target app against the signature before performing any action. An app signature can be created for SSM deployment via StageNow or an EMM system by using Zebra's App Signature Tool (see below).

To generate an app signature:

  1. Go to the Zebra App Signature Tool page.

  2. Follow instructions for downloading and using the tool.

  3. Use the command below in place of Step 4 on the Sig Tools page, adapting as needed for your file names:

    Java -jar SigTools.jar GetCert -INFORM APK -OUTFORM BASE64 -IN [YourApp.apk] -OUTFILE YourAppSig.txt

  4. If successful, a file called "YourAppSig.txt" (or whatever you named it) appears in the working directory, and contains a Base64-formatted string.

  5. The contents of that sig file are to be pasted into the "Target Application Signature" field of StageNow (or the corresponding field of your EMM system with OEMConfig).

Notes:

  • In the example, "[YourApp.apk]" represents the app from which to retrieve the app signature. Substitute the actual name of the .apk (leaving out the [ ] brackets).
  • If your process requires that the app signature be read from a file, rename the Sig Tools output file (named “YourAppSig.txt” in the example) to “YourApp.txt” (substituting “YourApp” with the name of the app from which you retrieved the signature) and place that renamed file in the /assets directory of the device (create if necessary).

Usage

After its initial launch, the Zebra Screen Blank app runs automatically whenever the device starts up. Configuration of the app can be changed only remotely by using the parameters shown below; it offers no user interface for viewing or updating its settings from the device.

Send Intent

After deployment of the app and config file, broadcast an intent to start the service.

  • Mode: Send intent when XML is processed
  • Action: Broadcast
  • Package name: com.zebra.motionscreenblank
  • Android Action name: com.zebra.motionscreenblank.ACTION_FIRST_LAUNCH
  • Class name: com.zebra.motionscreenblank.MotionScreenBlankBroadcastReceiver

About 20 seconds after broadcasting the intent, a notification appears on the device (similar to the image below), indicating that the ZSB service is running in the background:

image Notification shown when ZSB is first activated. Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.

Connect the device to a power source to start motion detection.

Changing the Config

The .json file below enables the app on the device, sets it to blank the screen after two seconds of motion, and to restore the screen when motion ceases for four seconds. Shown below are the default values and can be modified as needed. 


{
" motion_screen_blank_service ": “true"
 "key_blank_waiting_time": “2000",
 "key_restore_waiting_time": “4000",
}

Parameters

  • motion_screen_blank_service - Starts and stops the Zebra Screen Blank service.
    • true: start service
    • false: stop service (default)
  • key_blank_waiting_time - Sets the delay (in ms) between detection of motion and blanking the screen.
    • Range: (min=2000; no max.)
    • Default: 2000 (2 seconds)
  • key_restore_waiting_time - Sets the delay (in ms) between lack-of-motion detection and restoration of the screen.
    • Range: (min=4000; no max.)
    • Default: 4000 (4 seconds)

Also See