Accessing other devices using Android tablets

I am looking 开发者_如何学编程for a way to communicate with a control-board (u can consider it a sensor device) using USB cable. My sensor device supports usb but I think android does not have a way for that.

Can that be possible through Bluetooth dongle?

Is there any Android device available which supports USB host.

USB host has been "hacked" into a lot of android phones, but it's not very user friendly and weird cabling is needed along with a power supply as the phone won't power a usb device.

Some of the "first generation" android tables apparently had USB host on some models.

I've seen pictures of a Xoom connected directly (via a short OTG cable) to a thumb drive that it appears to be powering and reading from, apparently it was unofficial software.

As for your other questions, yes, you can use bluetooth if you get a bluetooth modem for your embedded device. Or you can use wifi. Some of the phones have low voltage debug serial ports. Or you can build a modem / DTMF control interface to connect to the headphone jack...