The Haptic Feedback Shift Knob is a replacement for a manual transmission shift knob that adds haptic and visual feedback to help drivers shift appropriately. An Android application monitors the vehicle’s speed, RPM and accelerator pedal position. Based on this information, the application calculates and then indicates to the driver when he or she should […]
Tag Archives: automotive
R-Pi based Volvo S80 replacement nav system
Reinis has been working on this Raspberry Pi based project for some time. It’s about replacing stock navigation system for Volvo S80 (which does not, and will not have maps for my home country). It had a nice motorized display and buttons on steering wheel for control. I really did want everything to be as […]
Ford’s OpenXC vehicle data bus interface project
At the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Ford announced their OpenXC project, a combination of open source hardware and software that lets you extend your vehicle with custom applications and pluggable modules. It uses standard, well-known tools to open up data from the vehicle to developers. The OpenXC team explains, “OpenXC is an API to […]
Freediag open source vehicle diagnostic suite
Ever wonder what’s happening on your vehicle’s data bus? Here’s an open source software tool suite which hopes to open this data to your Linux box. “Freediag is a suite of vehicle diagnostic protocols and an OBD II (mostly) compliant scanning tool, currently for Linux platforms. Multiple graphical user interfaces for the scan tool are […]
Car Kracker hacks auto ISO 9141 data bus
Nicholas McClanahan over at GadgetGangster has written an article about their new project known as Car Kracker. It’s an automobile data bus interface based on the Parallax Propeller which interfaces with the data bus connector on select BWM, Mini and Land Rover models. It allows you to access, add and upgrade features such as add […]
DIY Arduino 6-channel temperature monitor
Johnathan Hottell wanted a way to monitor and display the temperature readings at various points around the engine on his LB7 Duramax diesel truck. He developed this project for a six channel temperature monitor employing a bank of thermistors to monitor various engine locations. They are read each second by the Arduino’s analog pins, with […]
CAN-BUS based OBD reader
Debraj has been developing a project to read the OBD information through CAN bus. His design is based on the dsPIC33FJ128MC802 (3.3V) and MCP2551. He is using a factory stock OBD cable and feeding the data into a jack on the project board. The data is displayed on a 16×4 LCD and includes engine RPM, […]
DIY iPhone remote automotive ignition
Will O’Brien developed this project allowing him to remotely start his car via an SMS sent to a jailbroken iPhone. The additional hardware involved is an Arduino, iPhone breakout board such as the PodBreakout Mini, 4x 10k resistors, 1x TIP120 and a 5 volt switching supply cell charger. All the details, including source code and […]
Ford and Bug Labs develop open-source R&D platform
According to Ford Motor Company’s press release, they are partnering with Bug Labs * Ford and Bug Labs, an open-source hardware and software provider, announce a joint development project to research, develop and distribute open-source developer tools to advance in-car connectivity innovation. * Known as “OpenXC,” the research platform is based on Bug Labs’ open-source […]
Introduction to the Controller Area Network (CAN)
A controller area network (CAN) is ideally suited to the many high-level industrial protocols embracing CAN and ISO-11898:1993 as their physical layer. Its cost, performance, and upgradeability provide for tremendous flexibility in system design. This application report presents an introduction to the CAN fundamentals, operating principles, and the implementation of a basic CAN bus with […]
CAN sniffing for steering wheel button presses
Newer protocols are always fun to explore, such as the automotive CAN bus. Here’s a project by wire2wire which sniffs the CAN signals from steering wheel controls and converts them to a serial output. The main components are a PIC16F876, MCP2515 and MCP2551. The code and all docs are available in a zip file. Current […]
Intra-car wireless sensor networks
Wireless sensor networks are used in increasing numbers and levels of complexity in today’s automobiles. Here’s a lengthy, detailed analysis published by CMU, Pittsburgh, PA detailing their use and interaction in contemporary applications.
App Note: CAN basics
The popularity of the Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol has grown exponentially since its introduction in the mid-1980s. Today it’s used in automotive monitoring and control systems, medical equipment and industrial automation. Also, more microcontrollers are supporting this protocol. Here’s a Microchip Application Note covering the basics of the CAN protocol.
$20 fuel injector tester
If you’re into DIY auto maintenance, here’s a project for you. Fuel injectors are made up of a coil of wire which opens a valve when energized, basically an electronic solenoid valve. These can wear out and to diagnose them properly requires more than just applying 12 volts and listening for a click. Dino, a […]
OBDuino: car diagnostics with Arduino
The OBDuino is an in-car real-time display of various information, like speed, RPM, instant fuel consumption or average trip fuel consumption as well as others PIDs supported by the car. It reads the data from the car’s OBD-II connector, interfacing it via a MC33290 chip to the Arduino which processes the CAN data and outputs […]