Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Carputer ideas

[Rannick1982]

First of all, looking forward to this project when "resources" open up and allow me to get all of the parts together.

Parts List
Raspbery Pi 3 B+ ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/3775 )
SD Card Extender ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/3687 )
GPS Breakout ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/746 )
RF Cable ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/851 )
GPS Antenna, just in case ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/960 )
USB to TTL ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/954 ) - This is for the GPS
7" Display ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/2395 )
PiCan2 for getting system information ( http://skpang.co.uk/catalog/pican2-...-p-1475:70056bae343c6d51c6b86407da0a5e45.html )

Now, for the project. I will be replacing the Starlink HU in my 2016 Forester for something much better in terms of functionality, upgrade-ability, and over all snappiness. The basics of getting AndroidAuto (at least open source variants) to work with is something I'm comfortable with getting done. I've tracked down some tutorials on the basic install process for the software, and even getting the information for the SWC. The bluetooth connectivity for hands-free calling and voice commands is "easy" to do. The biggest thing I am going to have to do is get the reverse camera built into my Forester to launch a video window that fills the screen, over any other application running, and closing out when put into any other gear. I had tracked down a 7" LCD display that had a break out adapter for reverse camera's, however, Subaru has theirs hardwired into the HU.

If anyone can help me with the script, it would be very much appreciated!

 

[silentbogo]

The idea is cool, but you need to do some adjustments:
1) RPI3 has UART on GPIO breakout, so the USB-TTL cable is not needed at all
2) It's much better to use a MIPI-DSI display, cause it can be plugged in directly into Pi. No need for a dedicated scaler, hence it's cheaper and takes less space inside your dashboard
Here's an official one w/ multitouch display and touch driver board (TTL to USB)
https://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-78156?ICID=rpimain-related-prods
3) If you only need CAN bus to get the basic info like sensor readings, RPM and temperatures, then it might be cheaper just to get an ELM327 bluetooth adapter and hook it up to OBD-II port. It costs around $10 in retail (or cheaper), and is well-documented. There is no fully-functional software for Linux, but you can get it up and running under Android w/ a wide selection of apps.

I haven't touched OpenAuto yet, but if I have some time, I'll try to get some ideas about the rear camera.

 

[Rannick1982]

The display I linked has breakout dongle for video in from the back-up camera, which gets activated when the car is in reverse. I will probably move to the Asus Tinker Board to drive the HU, as it can natively run Android 6.0. The CAN bus is needed for the mapping of the steering wheel controls, as I have to get the information from the main "brain" inside the car. After doing some more diving, I think I will also need to do this for the trigger for reversing and activating the camera. The biggest hiccup I am going to have to tinker with, after getting everything, is writing a script to send a full screen video to over ride anything else being displayed on screen.

If I had an older car, I would not need to worry about the steering wheel control, or the factory install back-up camera. XD

 

[moproblems99]

The display I linked has breakout dongle for video in from the back-up camera, which gets activated when the car is in reverse. I will probably move to the Asus Tinker Board to drive the HU, as it can natively run Android 6.0. The CAN bus is needed for the mapping of the steering wheel controls, as I have to get the information from the main "brain" inside the car. After doing some more diving, I think I will also need to do this for the trigger for reversing and activating the camera. The biggest hiccup I am going to have to tinker with, after getting everything, is writing a script to send a full screen video to over ride anything else being displayed on screen.

If I had an older car, I would not need to worry about the steering wheel control, or the factory install back-up camera. XD

If you have any specific questions I can do my best, in my yesteryear I was a autotech that did a ton of body electrical. Today, I am an electronics nerd but my Java/Android is rusty.

Edit: You have actually sparked my interest into doing a project for myself. I have had a couple Pis laying around for a while that needed a project and my truck needs a new radio. Thank you. I have actualy found some pretty cool double din case enclosures: Like this one on ebay. I am curious about what to do for boosting the audio at this point but thank you for this project!

 

[cdawall]

Why not just buy a used ipad with cell? They seem cheaper than that.

 

[moproblems99]

Why not just buy a used ipad with cell? They seem cheaper than that.

Where is the fun in that?

In this case the prize is the journey

 

[therealmeep]

The display I linked has breakout dongle for video in from the back-up camera, which gets activated when the car is in reverse. I will probably move to the Asus Tinker Board to drive the HU, as it can natively run Android 6.0. The CAN bus is needed for the mapping of the steering wheel controls, as I have to get the information from the main "brain" inside the car. After doing some more diving, I think I will also need to do this for the trigger for reversing and activating the camera. The biggest hiccup I am going to have to tinker with, after getting everything, is writing a script to send a full screen video to over ride anything else being displayed on screen.

If I had an older car, I would not need to worry about the steering wheel control, or the factory install back-up camera. XD

Just curious about why you want the steering angle from your CANbus, other little things you should be able to control over can though would be lights as well as actually being able to spoof sensors (seems really dangerous) As for a board I'd say take the RPi over the tinkerboard just because of the community support being much much greater for the Pis even though the tinkerboard might support android. Either way, good luck with this and hoping to see some good results (looking at doing can mapping on my pilot)

 

[Rannick1982]

@therealmeep So, for the steering wheel accessories; 1) Since I have volume, seek/next, answer/make call, end call, etc., it would allow me to retain the hands free options more easily. 2) The can bus is needed, since newer cars have everything within the cabin of the vehicle passing information through that.

@moproblems99 For the audio solution, you do have some options. You could get a cheap wired sound card like this one here, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N905VOY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_NJRPAbWE12BKD , run that to an amp, such as a 100W or you can try piping it in as an aux signal to your current head unit.

 

[Aquinus]

It's going to take you a lot of effort. If you have the base model head (7-inch,) unit like I have in my 2015 Impreza, by all means, replace it. Almost anything will be an improvement. However, wiring in your own custom stuff might prove to be tricky. It sounds like a fun project but, it's going to take you a lot of time to get right. Personally, if I were going to replace the HU, I would get one that's known to work with Subaru's inputs, in particular the reverse camera which (to me,) is one of the best parts about the stock HU other than maybe Bluetooth for hands-free.

As I understand it, the camera is just the wires for video plus a switch from the transmission to say if it's in reverse or not (probably connected to the same switch for the reverse light.) Granted, my Impreza is also the 5-speed manual base model so, it might be more simple thanks to how simple manual transmissions are.

With that said, if you have the 9" HU, I would keep using that as it's really not too bad compared to the 7". A lot less sluggish, doesn't crash nearly as often, and seems to pound a bit better.