4 ms·

I'd pay good money* for a system that would package a PiZero, touchscreen, suction cup etc. into a single convenient package that I could plug into the 12v char

I'd pay good money* for a system that would package a PiZero, touchscreen, suction cup etc. into a single convenient package that I could plug into the 12v charging point of my car. Especially if it runs Android Auto! *A medium amount of money

jimmies 9y ago
That's indeed the first thing I thought of. The problem with the Pi0 was that it doesn't have a Display header, so it turned out to be very messy. The 7-inch touchscreen is very big anyway, so the Pi3 actually isn't that big and bulky. I'm sure if ideas like Crankshaft take off, there will be people who make the suction cup structure for you. For now you can buy the touch screen cover for the back, but it doesn't have the suction cup. PS: If you really hate the bulkiness of the Pi3B, you can try the Pi A+. I haven't tried it because I don't have it, but it should also work.
- robocat 9y ago
  I saw that one of the Orange Pi boards comes with a cheap touch screen. Google alibaba or banggood.
  - voltagex_ 9y ago
    Heh, if it's the touchscreen I'm thinking of, it's a knockoff of a knockoff - also only has a binary kernel driver.
ohazi 9y ago
"Official" rpi Touchscreen: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0153R2A9I/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0153R2A9I/ Case for pi and touchscreen: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01HV97F64/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01HV97F64/ Suction cup: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B076XZ9JN7/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B076XZ9JN7/ Car charger: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ISGCAJM/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ISGCAJM/ Might require a little finagling...
- lowtolerance 9y ago
  Most cars don’t supply 12v thorough the accessory outlet when the ignition is off, so you’d need some of backup power source. Pis do not cope well with having the power cut off abruptly, so unless you want to carry a spare microSD card around at all times, you’d need some kind of solution for handling shutdowns.
  - woolvalley 9y ago
    A battery and something that detects the power has been cut off and does a shut down/standby. Rpi startup takes a little while, so I don't know how nice it would be to wait 1 minute for your android auto system to startup.
    - thr0awaz 9y ago
      It's not a big job to wire the detector you're talking about in your first sentence - it's more or less a relay and a capacitor (albeit a big capacitor, or maybe a battery if you put some more wiring and a charger in the circuit) For the second one... you'd need to maybe consider tapping into the CAN bus and listening for a door unlock event, then powering up off that, and/or stripping everything out of the kernel and services that isn't needed... you could probably get that boot down to 10-15 seconds
      - bigiain 9y ago
        Pretty sure he's already done that second part. The linked "features demo" video on youtube shows it booting into the Crankshaft app from power on (through Rasbian Lite) in ~11 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFEpfuDBDjM&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFEpfuDBDjM&feature=youtu.be
    - rkangel 9y ago
      If you watch the video, the bootup time of the distro involved is significantly less than one minute - more like 10 seconds in fact.
  - 9y ago
mhd 9y ago
Give me a decent HUD setup and something that plugs into OBD, and I'm sold, too. I want to have some kind of conky/rainmeter/ubersicht for my dashboard window.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  Good HUD is hard. The problem is the length of the lightpath. I've done some experiments with this, your best bet is to place the screen somewhere on the right hand side and project via a mirror onto the windshield. You'll still have to deal with sunlight reflecting off the mirror into the car and you will need a super bright lightsource to be able to use it in daylight. The best solutions end up in front of the firewall to minimize picture distortion.
  - setpatchaddress 9y ago
    Available systems in the marketplace seem to suggest that you either need a windshield with special light-filtering properties (as in new Volvos), or you get a separate piece of glass/plastic material to project the HUD onto (every other OEM system I've personally seen). But maybe the light sources simply aren't bright enough.
    - jacquesm 9y ago
      That separate piece of stuff to project on to is to avoid the ghosting effect you get from a projection reflecting from both the front and the back of the glass/air interface.
lern_too_spel 9y ago
Android Auto does not need a separate head unit, so I think any 7" tablet with the Play Store would work. Just configure it to tether to your phone when the car turns on.

jimmies 9y ago

That's indeed the first thing I thought of. The problem with the Pi0 was that it doesn't have a Display header, so it turned out to be very messy. The 7-inch touchscreen is very big anyway, so the Pi3 actually isn't that big and bulky. I'm sure if ideas like Crankshaft take off, there will be people who make the suction cup structure for you. For now you can buy the touch screen cover for the back, but it doesn't have the suction cup. PS: If you really hate the bulkiness of the Pi3B, you can try the Pi A+. I haven't tried it because I don't have it, but it should also work.

robocat 9y ago
I saw that one of the Orange Pi boards comes with a cheap touch screen. Google alibaba or banggood.
- voltagex_ 9y ago
  Heh, if it's the touchscreen I'm thinking of, it's a knockoff of a knockoff - also only has a binary kernel driver.

ohazi 9y ago

"Official" rpi Touchscreen: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0153R2A9I/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0153R2A9I/ Case for pi and touchscreen: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01HV97F64/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01HV97F64/ Suction cup: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B076XZ9JN7/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B076XZ9JN7/ Car charger: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ISGCAJM/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ISGCAJM/ Might require a little finagling...

lowtolerance 9y ago
Most cars don’t supply 12v thorough the accessory outlet when the ignition is off, so you’d need some of backup power source. Pis do not cope well with having the power cut off abruptly, so unless you want to carry a spare microSD card around at all times, you’d need some kind of solution for handling shutdowns.
- woolvalley 9y ago
  A battery and something that detects the power has been cut off and does a shut down/standby. Rpi startup takes a little while, so I don't know how nice it would be to wait 1 minute for your android auto system to startup.
  - thr0awaz 9y ago
    It's not a big job to wire the detector you're talking about in your first sentence - it's more or less a relay and a capacitor (albeit a big capacitor, or maybe a battery if you put some more wiring and a charger in the circuit) For the second one... you'd need to maybe consider tapping into the CAN bus and listening for a door unlock event, then powering up off that, and/or stripping everything out of the kernel and services that isn't needed... you could probably get that boot down to 10-15 seconds
    - bigiain 9y ago
      Pretty sure he's already done that second part. The linked "features demo" video on youtube shows it booting into the Crankshaft app from power on (through Rasbian Lite) in ~11 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFEpfuDBDjM&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFEpfuDBDjM&feature=youtu.be
  - rkangel 9y ago
    If you watch the video, the bootup time of the distro involved is significantly less than one minute - more like 10 seconds in fact.
- 9y ago

mhd 9y ago

Give me a decent HUD setup and something that plugs into OBD, and I'm sold, too. I want to have some kind of conky/rainmeter/ubersicht for my dashboard window.

jacquesm 9y ago
Good HUD is hard. The problem is the length of the lightpath. I've done some experiments with this, your best bet is to place the screen somewhere on the right hand side and project via a mirror onto the windshield. You'll still have to deal with sunlight reflecting off the mirror into the car and you will need a super bright lightsource to be able to use it in daylight. The best solutions end up in front of the firewall to minimize picture distortion.
- setpatchaddress 9y ago
  Available systems in the marketplace seem to suggest that you either need a windshield with special light-filtering properties (as in new Volvos), or you get a separate piece of glass/plastic material to project the HUD onto (every other OEM system I've personally seen). But maybe the light sources simply aren't bright enough.
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    That separate piece of stuff to project on to is to avoid the ghosting effect you get from a projection reflecting from both the front and the back of the glass/air interface.

lern_too_spel 9y ago

Android Auto does not need a separate head unit, so I think any 7" tablet with the Play Store would work. Just configure it to tether to your phone when the car turns on.