[Maximusi]

Good Evening Fellow Kodinians,

There are several projects on my radar one is moving fairly close to the top and thats a touchscreen computer built into my car that pretty much does it all.

I have just purchases a Raspberry Pi 2 which will be the computer, I am also looking to purchase a 7" touch screen for it as well as various other accessories to meet the project requirements.

Now I have been thinking alot about the platform and how it would work and rather than try and build something from scratch I am pondering the use of Kodi and build on it from there and was wondering what you guys thought about this project.

First off this would require a custom skin and a few addons/scripts to acheive everything but here was my initial thoughts:

When you turn your ignition on the rPi2 boots up (optimised to boot as quickly as possible) and goes straight into Kodi, On the home screen to Kodi its slightly different than normal offering things like Radio, TV, Music, DVD, SatNav, Telephone, Settings etc etc in a touch friendly manner probably two rows of icons

Now Kodi will already handly the Music, TV, DVD but possibly build addons to allow for your mobile phone to connect via bluetooth and the car computer like all other normal ones will allow to make phone calls/see whos calling etc and output sound via car speakers also pausing music/muting radio etc.

We can also have things like SatNav to launch another app possibly but switching between focus of the satnav and kodi might need some thinking about the best way. I was thinking about some hardware buttons as well to switch between key features.

There is also a fairly cheap accessory I found that connects both directly to the car battery and ignition switch so that when you turn your car off it keeps the rPi powered for a short amount of time and initiates a proper shutdown rather than a hard off also saving your battery from draining but can survive you turning the ignition off and on.

Possible accessories I am researching:

• Bluetooth Dongle - for phone connectivity
  
• GPS - For satnav app
  
• RadioRF Receiver - for normal FM/AM Radio
  
• WiFi Dongle - Either for phone tethering or output of a WiFi network
  
• 3G Dongle - Possibly so it can have its own internet? And maybe share via above WiFi
  
• SSD - for storing media and being shock proof
  

Other possibilities that I think could be good would be:

• Proximity Sensor - For parking sensors (seen some that go down to 4" which is much better than most standard parking sensors I have seen)
  
• Camera - Could be wired into reverse on the car to be a reversing camera, or even used as a dash cam
  
• DVB-T Tuner - for Live TV (although this could be accomplished with an internet connection back to tuners at home but would rely on a decent internet connection which can be fun on the move.
  

At work I have access to both a 3D Printer and a Laser Cutter for prototyping the mounts for all the hardware into the car.

My ultimate goal would be able to make this a fairly universal project in which could be used by multiple people around the world to fit in their cars. My current car has a double stereo slot which would fit in the 7" screen nicely but alot of people don't have this so would possibly need a design where the screen extends out (seen other car hardware which does this)

I might be able to hack something together for my own use but it wouldnt be pretty or professional but if there is some geninue interest in this idea than maybe a team of us can come together to make this into a reality? Maybe even a kickstarter project.

I am very serious about this project and the nature of the rPi it isn't expensive and easily available so should be easy for others to get hardware to test with however as stated I have just purchased the new rPi2 (awaiting delivery in a couple weeks) and already investigating touchscreen and other accessories.

So what do you guys think?

[DJ_Izumi]

I think this is where dedicated, purpose built OS's thrive and where the kinds of setups we build here would be ENTIRELY inadequate... o_o

[proline]

Wouldnt it just be easier to get a decent 7 Inch tablet and forget the pi?

[Maximusi]

Thanks for the honest replies so far. To answer the last one first I did think about a tablet but a) it would be more fun to build my project rather than just fit in a tablet and secondly the pi is much more expandable and customiseable than using a tablet. For instance tablets do take a long time to boot up from full off and leaving them with screen off would drain your car battery whereas with a pi it is fairly quick to boot and you can modify stuff to try and improve upon that.

As for the first reply I do get what you are saying there are purpose built stuff however I always find them to be a bit too narrow minded and what is on the tin is what you get where as with this project I was thinking it for starters could possibly be modular so depending on what hardware is plugged in/addons are installed is what would be displayed plus using something like Kodi which is already highly customiseable, skinnable and easy to build plugins for could work well.

I am not denying it would be alot of work but I think it could be very rewarding and quite a bit of fun.

[T800]

I had a Nexus 7 on my dash for 12 months and left it on all the time and it never effected the car battery. Android lollipop boots quicker than a Pi does.

[Dallas_Turtle]

I'm in the process of doing something similar... And the poster above me was right, even if a tablet was operating at it's max wattage, it would still take weeks without starting the engine for that to drain your battery...

I ultimately have decided to use an Ouya paired with my Kenwood DNX571HD headunit, and also an HD overhead TV... The Ouya and the silent inverter powering it will be hidden out of sight, and I have it fused directly to the battery with no relay, so it will stay on 24/7... I also have interior accent lighting that I leave on 24/7 and it has never been an issue...

At first I planned on using a Jetway Minitop that I bought used off ebay for $60, its benchmarks were almost identical to those of the Tegra 3 inside the Ouya... I bought the Ouya with 2 controllers for $50 off craigslist, both the Jetway and the Ouya run XBMC really nicely... The reason I decided not to use Jetway was because I could not convert its HDMI signal to a Composite RCA output for more compatabilty with my automotive accessories (headunit, Alpine video switcher, and rear-monitor)... The Ouya on the otherhand took the cheap little HDMI-to-RCA converter quite well... The Pi does support composite video output, so I considered it too, but I just didn't like the cost vs performance ratio, all those little Pi accessoires add up pretty fast...

Car audio companies need to get with the times... HDMI/MHL inputs didn't make their way onto head units until the past couple of years, my Kenwood has HDMI, but it is not capable of sending that signal to other monitors, it only supports video output through Composite RCA... And when will we finally see an amp with a HDMI input?

The other reason I didn't want to use HDMI as the video signal, is because I also wanted to be able to use the HDMI/MHL port on my headunit for mirroring my phone's display, which is the primary reason the headunit was given a HDMI input... I couldn't have a computer hooked up discreetly to the headunit, and still be able to have it mirror my phone... At least not without a HDMI switcher... So also considered adding a HDMI switcher, but I would need one that supports MHL, I would need it to be a 4x2 Matrix so it could also feed my rear-monitor, and I would also need it to have analog audio output to feed audio to my amps... Such switchers do exist, but the cheapest you can find them is about $75 on Amazon... Okay, for $75 it's worth a shot, but the thing that really bothered me was the fact that it would have to be mounted somewhere visible in order for it to recieve the IR transmission from the remote, which is not ideal... A 12V A/V switcher like my Alpine KCE-420V works much better for the car, as it has two small wired remote switch buttons, which are easy to mount very discreetly in a convenient location(s)... I will eventually order a HDMI Matrix, just because I have to test it and see how well it might be able to tie it into my system... I could not find any information or discussions online in regards to adding a HDMI switcher to a car... Maybe I would be the first person in the world to ever try it? Or maybe not...

The other thing I really want to test out with my headunit is a miracast dongle... I already replaced one of my factory cigarette adapters with a flush mounted port that has a HDMI and USB port on it... The HDMI input will be connected to my Kenwood DNX571HD headunit, and the USB input will be connected to a 17-watt USB Charging port, the headunit's USB port is for data transfer to the headunit, it is not good for charging, so its input will be routed elsewhere... Anyway, I've not seen where anybody tested a Miracast dongle with any of these MHL capable headunits, I will do it someday soon and I hope it works good... I'd much prefer a wireless connection through a simple dongle, rather than having wires running directly to my phone...

When I decided to add some accessories to my car, I went ahead and bought a lot of extra wire and connectors... That way I could run duplicates to each location I was already going to have to access anyway... Now I have the ability to add even more accessory devices without any extra labor on my part, it's just plug and play from here on out... I have a total of 9 fuses coming directly off my battery, I planned ahead and wired them up all at the same time... Most are and/or will be powering very low wattage devices, such as the Ouya, a mini PC, lots of LEDs, a USB Hub, USB step-downs, or a HDMI Matrix, etc... I have three large 4 gauge wires on the + battery terminal, 2 are for my amps, the other is connected to a small distribution block... The distribution block feeds 7 different inline fuses with 14 gauge wire, some are wired to a relay and only come on when the car does, some are wired to be able to draw constant power... The things that are and/or will be able to draw power with the car off are the Ouya, a USB Hub, USB Charger, USB step-downs, and lots of LEDs, but the LEDs can be turned off/on with remotes... I also used a distribution block for all my smaller ground wires... The 14 gauge inline fuses are attached to 16 gauge wire that will feed the power to the devices... And for devices this low wattage, 16 gauge wire was actually overkill, which is a good thing with wire... All the fuses used were either 10 or 15 amp, except for my amplifiers of course which use 80... I have a total of 4 hidden cigarette adapter connections, 2 of them are not in use, but are ready to be used at any time, the other two are connected to Rosewill 150watt Silent Inverters... The remaining power wires are connected directly to devices such as LED controllers, and USB step-downs... All devices getting power are and/or will be completely hidden in an enclosed space...

If you wanted to put a PC or PC-like device in your car as cheap and simple as possible, I think the easiest way would be to buy an MHL capable headunit from JVC/Kenwood/Pioneer for around $250/300... Afterall, your smart-phone is a computer at heart... That said, I obviously wasn't satisfied with that option either... Which is why I chose to add an Ouya for running Kodi, and it's gaming capablities is also a plus, especially for the offspring... But at the same time, I still didn't want the Ouya running to the headunits HDMI, because I still want to be able to make my phone display on the headunit, even though the headunit already has built-in Garmin Navigation, and I already have the Ouya for Kodi A/V needs, but it's all about having options... There's also quite a few no-name companies selling straight-up android headunits for less than $200, if you wanna roll the dice with that...

Anyway, I know this isn't exactly the response the OP was looking for, but maybe something I wrote will help somebody out there who wants to do something similar... I'll post a Youtube video of my vehicle once it's finished... Give me a couple months from today's date (March 25th, 2015) to finish my mods and get around to posting a video, then you'll be able to see my mods if you like... Just search Youtube for something like "Modded Chevy Traverse" and you're sure to find a video featuring my Kodi powered Black Chevy Traverse... Alright peace y'all..............

[slithers]

for a more integrated system check out the forums at mp3car.com (think that is the name), it is a site dedicated to car computing. last time i was there windows was the os of choice with roadrunner being the software for front end use. having said that, they have a company or two that make dc to dc power units that include a startup/shutdown controller. basically the computer power supply is wired for 12 volt dc to dc, and the integrated startup/shutdown controllers connect to your ignition accessory switch and will initiate a startup for the computer when your car is switched on, and will after a delay intitiate the shutdown sequence of your computer when you turn the car off. this provides smooth power cycling for the computer side of things. It has been a while since i messed with it but the older versions of road runner allowed launching of external apps, ie launch kodi from road runner. Now with something like the power of low voltage apu's I could see the ability to run both roadrunner for your dash unit and kodi pushing videos to screens in the car for passengers. anywho i like to dabble and now you got me thinking about it again.

[Dallas_Turtle]

Thanks for the info slithers... I'll check it out...

I was aware of mp3car.com, and also aware that there are computer power supplies and enclosures that are designed for cars, but I had not heard of the RoadRunner software, thanks for the info... I think a PC specifically designed for a car would be the ideal, but it's also a bit more pricey... If I had an extra $500 to spend, then I would definitely go with a more traditional "carputer" setup, but on the other hand, the 12v DC to DC power supply alone costs more than the Ouya I bought... And even at max power the Ouya consumes less than 10 watts, so it never has to be turned off... The same is pretty much true for most little nettop or chromebox type computers, they wont draw enough power to put you at risk of draining the battery, so they can stay on 24/7, negating the need for a special power supply... The other advantage to having the device get consant power is that you'll never have to wait for it to boot up...

[slithers]

indeed. many people at mp3car are switching to tablets and such. I guess the real question is how much computer power do you want in your car. I ran over there the other day to check things out and I want a good linux front end. I do pen testing so having a computer in the car that can serve as a front end for music would be awesome for me.

[PsyCLown]

So bit of a necro, although I am guessing no further progress has been made?

I for one would be super interested in something like this, however my contribution would be limited due to my lack of coding knowledge
I am already running Kodi on a tablet though and so far loving it Running a Windows 8 tablet ^^

[Ned Scott]

See http://www.engineering-diy.blogspot.ro/2...orial.html

I followed that and it's been great. Even got the FM module working. I just need a car that isn't about to die, so I feel it is worth installing ;)