Is there a way to expand the notifications with a key press, instead of touch?

Question

The reason: I'm trying to make Android work in a device without touch screen.

Answer 1

You could try to use view.performClick() to dispatch a click on the view, and then handle it as usual in onClick method. Doc is here

Answer 2

It's available through the home screen menu (Home key, Menu key, "Notifications"), the effect is the same as pulling down the notifications bar. This lets you use the trackball (or equivalent) to select individual notifications.