Android : Real time Android kernel or application development

I would like to ask you if there is a way to create real time applications in Android. I know that Android is does not support real time applications so I wonder if there is an alternative way of accomplishing it. Can it be done using another (more real time) kernel?

Is there a way to go down and program the Linux kernel in Android? I do not know if Native code can be more useful. The application should be able to control the camera's led as fast as possible and there is no Native API provided by Google. Any other suggestions?

Thanks