ok so some of you know how much money has gone into my Volkswagen GTI.. if not go check out
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2389842 and get an idea.
Well now that I have got the important stuff done to the car its time to focus on other aspects.. This winter the beast is getting the motor yanked for a rebuild, the engine bay painted black, and a bunch of stuff is getting powder coated & ceramic coated. Inside the car I am redoing the headliner in black alcantera, deleting rear seats, preparing for a roll bar install and installing some goodies in the back..
One of the goodies is a CarPC, since I have a USB sprint mobile broadband card I couldent wait to jump on this so I have already started sourcing components and development has progressed nicely..
Here are the goals:
Stealth Install
GPS Tracking with Security
Headless Operation
Public HotSpot
Multiple Front Ends
Vehicle Diagnosis & Logging
Photo Management
Here is how I plan on accomplishing them:
Stealth Install:
Starting off with a very small form factor VIA Nehemiah system that is roughly the same size as the OEM CD Changer, this hidden area in hatch area will be modified to house all components..
Wifi, GPS, and EVDO Antennas will be streamlined into the interior of the car.
Device is passively cooled so its silent..
Headless Operation:
OEM Monsoon Headunit will be retained, I will be using a device that plugs into cd changer with headphone jack & usb cord.. This will let me output audio to factory system and recieve command inputs from the OEM steering wheel controls and the head unit.. This will let me change tracks and select pre-defined playlists with no front end.. Music P_layer_ Daemon will be responsible for managing music.
GPS Tracking with Security:
First what do you mean by security? Well for one I am going to be logging all the time, and well I dont want this information used against me so all information is going to be logged to an accessible CF card using extremely strong encryption.. Other than that I will have a secure website running on the box that shows current location on google maps and gpsd will be listning on the wifi network for other front ends (such as gpsdrive, roadnav, kismet, etc..). If online remote users will be able to login and view vehicles current location.
Public Hotspot:
I am shooting for maximum range, carputer uses hawking usb 802.11g card.. Acts as an Access Point with no security, running captive portal that will redirect unknown users to a disclaimer page containing pertinent info.. Internet access will be provided by a USB Sprint Mobile Broadband EVDO Modem, Most populated areas see speeds close to 1-2Mbit. Both devices support external antennas and will be used to enhance access in remote areas.
Multiple Front Ends:
All controls of the carputer can be carried out through a simple web browser, Music P_layer_ Daemon has a nice ajax web gui for building playlists and managing it like itunes, web browser will show current location on google maps, etc.. The goal for this is to be able to use a new iPod touch to act as a front end over wifi.. providing music management & gps info over Wifi using built in web browser.. Another front end will be my laptop, which eventually will be replaced with a dedicated tablet computer.. With a more robust machine you could surf the web, use gps navigation software, control media software, watch movies, etc without having to actually plug the device into anything.. Once you start plugging antennas and wires into a laptop you find out it dosent make it very friendly on road trips..
I will also have a small 5 line lcd tucked away in center console.. This will tell me the status of everything so I know whats going on even when there is no other front end to the computer.
Vehicle Diagnosis & Logging
This will require me to have a laptop or tablet handy to do but I'll have the software I use to do this loaded on the carputer and I will permanently wire the carputer to the diagnostic port.. Program will run on the carputer but it will be a terminal app to display on the front end.. Again allowing me to run diagnostics and other stuff without any pesky wires getting in the way..
Photo Management
Last but not least is a tucked away card reader that I when I plug a memory card from my camera automatically downloads the pictures, wipes the card for continued use, then compares the timestamps on the photographs to the gps logs to figure out known coordinates when picture was taken.. it will then automatically upload these to a private album on Picasa mapped out on google earth.. Process will be completely automated and will play a chime when its got the pictures and you can remove the card.. This will make taking/organizing/backing up pictures on a vacation/roadtrip/weekend getaway a snap. With that extra 10GB of google space I bought and nearly unlimited photo printing ability I take a shit load of pix
I have everything I need to pull this off except the device to interface with the cd-changer port on the oem headunit.. I plan on taking it for a test run when I come back to Wichita for Thanksgiving.. I still have alot of coding to do and some smaller non-essential items to scrounge up like external antennas and the like.
