Infotainment System for Porsche Car [from CAD, prototyping to finish]

[thatguychad]

Originally Posted by gonzzo

I thought I had read this entire thread but it's clear I missed that bit of bad news, thank you kjc2050!.

Fred, if you read this, I apologise. I hope everything is going well.

Thank you.

It wasn’t in this thread, he popped into another thread and gave a bit of an update, but I echo your sentiments.

[Troy.Boxster]

Fred,
Just how far did this come along? I've been re-reading this thread and saw just how close to production this was. Did you get some of the pieces manufactured? You had mentioned that certain items were going to be machined within a day or two from the posts. Just curious because, damn you spent a lot of time and effort on this.
I'm close to buying a new nav unit for my van and moving my current one to the 986, unless...

[Nine8Six]

Troy, man, what have you done lol

I was really (like really really) hoping for this thread to die hard and vanish deep down into the abyss of the Internet. Although rather embarrassing I'll try to give it my best shot, ready for it?? "The Product Was A Total Failure". It was a failure for several reasons in fact (automotive-wise anyway). Here goes the most critical fails:

1. Vibration test (fail)
2. Sub-zero temperature test (fail) (i.e. the screens didn't recovered past -5dC)
3. Humidity/condensation test (fail)
4. Awesomeness test (pass)
5. Software (pass)
6. Amateurism test (PASS x2)

I did indeed spent quite a bit of time (and money) on this project. Although, and as you've noticed already I'm sure (lol), I've learnt a whole lot in the process. Unfortunately the hardware and design was not meeting automotive requirements, unless of course, the kit would have been supplied with 'No Guaranty' & 'As-Is', and only sent to Porsche owners driving around the equator and on silk smooth roads.

Good news; I did recovered my investment by adapting the kit into a fixed "Controller" for Machine-tool (automation). Just needed a coating over the capacitive screen with a scratch and chemical resistant layer + software re-write. I have since sold the design, hardware, and models to a privateer based in the USA who I believe still sell the kit today.

Not what you wanted to hear I'm sure but hey, it is what it is :/ (sorry all)
Happy New year man )

[thatguychad]

No worries, Fred! While it would be cool, I thought it was a huge project for you to tackle on your own and set my expectations accordingly.

My Android head unit is working fine, though it’s far from perfect (Bluetooth call quality is unusable).

Happy new year!

[Nine8Six]

Yep, it was indeed an ambitious project. So sorry about that.
Funny part is all issues could have been re-engineered and/or hardware sourced elsewhere (e.g. screen) but the budget was really getting stretched if memory serves correctly. Who knows, maybe one day I'll find some extra time (financial?) and passion to make something even greater than what we've had already. Fingers crossed!

Good to hear you've got yours sorted at the end, thanks for letting me know. Best Wishes for 2020 bud!

[BruceH]

Bummer to hear but completely understandable I guess I will continue to use my iPad mini, still works great!

[Troy.Boxster]

Sorry Fred! But now there is closure. :-) Glad to hear that you were able to recoup the investment and do something with the design. Thanks for the update!

[bg305]

Very cool thread, I was a long time member of mp3car.com 15-18 years ago, and this brings back a lot of memories. I had to work through many of the same issues and ended up using an 10.4" atm screen (called an allbrite) that was sunlight readable and had a good usable temp range, etc. But everything was custom and parts like that were hard to find in quantity.

Side note: My favorite part of the project was the software aspect and getting the User experience right (back then it was all new). I was a young software engineer still in undergrad and used the opportunity to push myself to learn and explore. I create a software called "Carshell" that was a replacement for the explorer shell on the then brand new Windows XP. It was designed so you could use it with a touch screen in a car. Later as the "frontend softwares" on the site evolved, I became heavily involved in creating plugins for Centrafuse which became my favorite. One of my plugins integrated iGuidance which was a popular GPS software so it could be controlled from the front end.

My favorite project though was one I worked with another forum member on doing hazard detection with a night vision camera. So cool. I used an old (even at the time) security camera called a nitemax, had a good sensor and interchangeable lenses. The software part was very hard, oncoming traffic would "washout" the image completely. Sorry for the digression, it was such a influential time that really formed my career in many ways...

But just a closing note... as I was experimenting with all of this, I remember the first time I could wirelessly connect a phone to provide music over bluetooth. It was a sony ericson phone that rotated open and looked like a camera when closed. I knew imeddiately it was the future of the whole idea. Eventually there would be no point in having a "computer" we called them carputers or carpcs in the car, just a screen that acted as a thin client for the phone that everyone would have in their pocket.

So now we are there (android auto / carplay). So long sorry long.. for me personally I do not see the value in having the "computer" anymore. We already carry it around all day.

What I would really like to do though if I can find time is dig into android auto development, see if we can build custom apps that talk to bluetooth OBD2 sensors, etc.. Let the phone do everything that I used to be able to do with the carputer...

Regardless, very cool stuff!
Brian

[Nine8Six]

Hi Brian,

Wow, thanks for sharing this with us, good to know we have engineers on-site and sharing the same interest. You are correct on all points and your advise is well received. Windows XP Carputer, night-vision, interesting dev right there

Interesting you mention the smartphone-to-display because those top boxes just recently came out here in China. Got one at home that shoot up the phone display over the tele via hdmi. Although engineered for home cinema, I bet the same module could be re-used and an automotive screen adapted via e.g. an affordable Spartan-6 if one is familiar with verilog/hdl. Affordable and doable ideas for anyone ;-)

I'll have to agree with you that the software and theme was the best part of this project. It is what all started this at the first place in fact, sort of bringing in that "modern 986 theme" back to life in the dash. Although I respect the work that went into other head units (Android?) I am NOT fond of those colorful and displaced 3D buttons or features' look & feel lol

For the OBDII (fwiw) I've ended up using the MCP2515 from Microchip. The IC was interfaced to the MCU via SPI. Rather easy to use also (3 bytes) and can also be set-up to comm via UART if needed (need additional MCU). 12v to 5v (or 3.3) is as simple as using a voltage divider with a diode (or a low dropout) and off you go. Uses CAN-High and CAN-Low, PIDs are all wiki'ed. Few glitches but overhaul it was working perfectly fine (5mhz SPI if memory serves correctly). Was killer

No comment about the Navigation/GPS lol What a f n nightmare to code that was. Used the Bing's API, that's possibly what made it all hard to achieve but it was working fine at the end. Sort of...

Anyway. All good fun and great learning curve. Might jump back into this at some time but only if finance allow. You know, getting those screen custom made (in most cases) and engineered takes quite a bit of upfront investment :/

Thanks for sharing Brian, very interesting btw!

[bg305]

Thanks Fred!

I will check out that OBDII chip you mentioned.. I really would like to a obd2 app on my phone that could work through android auto / carplay.

Years ago (10+) I used to have a software I purchased that displayed the smart phone screen on a desktop (which I could remember the name). But at the end of the day the smartphone HCI paradigm is not perfect for the car either (hence all the software experimentation) Today though I think Android and Apple have the right idea with car integration. From the design perspective you are right there is no real control (they figured out the approach for you).. In the past I was figuring out the right path. But in the end, treating it as a driver, other than some occasional quirks connecting, the experience is pretty solid, just lacking compared to what I would do in the past when I had complete control. If android auto development allows it, i think a cool path forward is adding to the ecosystem through apps. But i think possibilities might still be limited there...

Going to try to force myself to find a bit of time over the next couple of weeks with the obd2 app. Would be a really nice addition, and i did a bit of searching and there does not seem to be anything out there (other then an experimental xda-developers forum post). It might not be possible (yet).

If you decide to jump back in at any point, let me know! Would love to help in any way I can.

Brian

[Nine8Six]

I will let you know, for sure. The more we are the better!

Sure you'll find a way to comm with the obd with your device(s). Never seen the unit layout or schematic but I'm sure they left you a uart interface somewhere in there for you to hack. If you go that diy route then also look up for the NXP's TJA1055 for the transceiver (low speed). Doesn't need much; 3.3-5V decoupling, CAN-H/L input and RX/TX output over that MCP2515 and that's pretty much it. Example libs and clock cpp are literally everywhere (ps. DTCs are roughly same as VW and Audi). GL!

Let me know if you are stuck (I doubt!) and I'll do my best to help out if needed.

edit: if no uart avail then just use a BT module. That (should) set-up a new com port in your unit, then just write your stuff to port over that. Easier that way maybe (less wiring lol)

[kjc2050]

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

Troy, man, what have you done lol

I was really (like really really) hoping for this thread to die hard and vanish deep down into the abyss of the Internet. Although rather embarrassing I'll try to give it my best shot, ready for it?? "The Product Was A Total Failure". It was a failure for several reasons in fact (automotive-wise anyway). Here goes the most critical fails:

1. Vibration test (fail)
2. Sub-zero temperature test (fail) (i.e. the screens didn't recovered past -5dC)
3. Humidity/condensation test (fail)
4. Awesomeness test (pass)
5. Software (pass)
6. Amateurism test (PASS x2)

I did indeed spent quite a bit of time (and money) on this project. Although, and as you've noticed already I'm sure (lol), I've learnt a whole lot in the process. Unfortunately the hardware and design was not meeting automotive requirements, unless of course, the kit would have been supplied with 'No Guaranty' & 'As-Is', and only sent to Porsche owners driving around the equator and on silk smooth roads.

Good news; I did recovered my investment by adapting the kit into a fixed "Controller" for Machine-tool (automation). Just needed a coating over the capacitive screen with a scratch and chemical resistant layer + software re-write. I have since sold the design, hardware, and models to a privateer based in the USA who I believe still sell the kit today.

Not what you wanted to hear I'm sure but hey, it is what it is :/ (sorry all)
Happy New year man )

Aww, tragic! I was really excited about this one, Fred. Great to see you back on the forum, though!!! (I’ve been absent for quite a while myself.) Take care & be safe. kc

[Nine8Six]

Wow nice to hear from you again and see you around! yep bit of an epic fail this project, although all it ever needed was budgeting. Severe budgeting, I mean lol Quite impressive the sort of custom 'this & that' a $50k~100k can bring to a design.

Grateful if one of you could generously send $150k to my PayPal addy and I'll have plenty to be able to finish this up in no time (the first investor gets his for free, maybe two if I'm in a good mood). Thank you very much!

Ps. Stick around Kevin. Good to have you back man, hope all is well for you and the family

[kjc2050]

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

Wow nice to hear from you again and see you around!

Ps. Stick around Kevin. Good to have you back man, hope all is well for you and the family

Thanks, friend. All is good on our end; hope you and yours are safe and well.