Update!

New Direction for the Cartroller Project.

Technology has advanced to a point where we now have the power of yesterday's computer's in the palm of our hands. Thus I am focusing my efforts around the Nokia n800.

I have constructed a custom mount for the n00 on my dashboard. The device will connect wirelessly to the Car's On-Board Computer, GPS module, and cell phone for data connection.

More to come soon!

cartroller

New Light Shed on Cartroller Project

Hello!
So alot has changed since this blog was last updated...
The FCC is making the 700 MHz band more "open" by requiring bidders to allow any device and not just ones that they want you to buy. In turn, this means that I could "tune" to a certain "channel" on this band and transmit data back and forth. If my device could send and receive data on a band within the 700 MHz range, that would, in theory, mean that I could be virtually anywhere in the United States and receive service. This is possible because 700 MHz antennas cover a distance roughly 4 times larger than the 1900 MHz antennas used my most cell phone carriers.

So what does this all really mean?
With a "always connected" device, I could send real-time statistical data about my automobile to a central database. With low range bluetooth, I can find out what other "catroller" devices are near by and retrieve their latest statistical information. My cartroller could take this information and make time critical decisions such as rea-time traffic routing, speed adjustment, and other alerts.

These are all theoretical at the momement, but could be done with the right technology in place. I may have found a great development device to test this theory. The Nokia N810 has good radio functionality and is open source. I can wait to get one and start coding!

Building the "Server"

The team and I began building the "Server".

We encountered problems while setting up the operating system. We believe the problem may be with the hard drive. When we run the windows setup, it freezes before we are able to install it. This may be a hardware issue, but I think it may be software related. Any ideas team?

And then there was light....

I had just spent hours scanning through the pages of power data courtesy of our industry advisor Barney. The only things on my mind were thoughts of how these numbers need to be organized to produce the most utility. On the 10 minute hike up 34th st. to my house, I looked up at a street light and stared at it for a few seconds. A swift wind blew, and I returned on my journey home. In those few seconds of incomprehensible lack of movement, An idea came to light.
The power data had a cyclic pattern that seemed to have trends similar to the graph of temperature data. So I decided to take a look at the temperature data with the same time frame as the power data using the site www.weatherunderground.com. As I predicted, there was nearly a direct correlation of the two. A feeling of satisfaction came over me, but I wanted to test the hypothesis on data from different locations and time frames. Each case I tested showed similar patterns!

So...What does this mean??

Im glad you asked.

Initially, this information let me know two things. One, it painted a clear picture that our overall consumption of energy is related to temperature. It makes sense; our bodies work harder when its hot to stay cool, hence we consume more energy as a whole. The second thing I was instantly able to see from this discovery was the possibility to improve power distribution on a global scale. The great thing about temperature is that it is almost 100% predictable. By using forecast temperature data, a model can (and will) be developed to predict power usage.

More to come soon...

Long Overdue Update

Hello World!

This is a long overdue update, and one that has been highly anticipated by few.

Project Status:
-"Carputer" design chosen; A "hot swappable" device in the works. This design was chosen to allow easy removal, and exchange of the computer to assist with code debugging.

-Working on designing a microcontroller that will relay data from the car (specifically the "carputer") to a remote database. The decision was made to send the data retrieved from the car to the carputer, instead of directly sending the data out to the remote location. This will allow the carputer to pre-process the data, which in turn would allow for more organized data being sent from the Car to the remote location. More on this below.

-The microcontroller design will be designed for not only automotive applications, but other applications that need to transmit data from remote locations. Such a microcontroller will require a solid design, and many design constraints come into play when developing such a device. Please leave any thoughts you may have on this.


Right now my concern is less on user interface, and more on retrieving and processing data. The idea now behind the project has shifted from simply relaying the car's position and speed, to relaying all realtime information of the automobile.

Data such as engine idling, water and oil pressure, brake usage, transmission information, and average speeds in certain zones, can be used by automotive insurance companies to assess the driving habits of a motorist as well as their car care habits. This can be used to pass savings on to safe motorists, and alert others of their poor driving or car care habits. This information could also be used by a potential buyer to get an idea of how the previous driver took care of the car, and gage the quality of the automobile.

So first thing is first: I need to see what information I can retrieve from the cars onboard computer, and if any controllers need to be designed to retrieve any other information.

If you are unfamiliar with what is going on, please read the first post
for more information. Thanks.

-Lloyd

The Dirty Work -- Thinking Outside the Box - Part 1

One of the most important I/O devices for a computer is the monitor. Most of the information the computer processes is relayed to the user through the monitor. In this project I will be using an 8 inch touchscreen monitor. The monitor is slightly larger than my stock dash space, so modification is needed to get the monitor to fit properly. This has required me to literally think outside the box, and remove the case around the monitor. You can see pictures of the progress made here.

This dirty work is necessary if I want the device customized to my preferences. Actually, it has been a while since I've flexed my mechanical muscle, so this will be fun and interesting.

Definition

Controller
A device that controls the transfer of data from a computer to a peripheral device and vice versa.

CARtroller
A device that controls the transfer of data from a carputer to a peripheral device and vice versa.

Computer Aided Ride-troller