My Info Pod

[Skuzzy]

I do not post much about my build as most of it has been about fixing structural issues with all the fiberglass. Boring stuff.

I finally took some time to do actual work on something for the car. The attached picture shows my information display for various electronic gadgets I have built for the car. This will be mounted in the dash. Explanation of each line follows:

FAN: This shows the percentage of the duty cycle the radiator fan is operating at.
W/Pump: I have an electric water pump and this shows its duty cycle it is operating at.
The "Temp" at the end of the above graphs is the coolant temperature.

NOTE: I do not have a thermostat in the engine. I rely on the electronic controls to vary pump and fan speed to regulate the engine temperature. I have also incorporated a manual override in case of any electronic failure.

P/S: I also have an electric power steering pump and this displays its duty cycle. Why vary the speed of the pump? Reduces the load on the alternator and to also vary the amount of power steering boost being applied.
C Fan: This shows the electronic controller fan duty cycle and "Temp" of the controller. The controller has two 30A MOSFET outputs which can output up to 60A for a couple of seconds. They can get quite hot.

I also incorporated an ambient temperature sensor Just for information purposes.
The Object Detection and Closing information makes use of two ultrasonic sensors. One in front and one in the back of the car.

The 4" TFT/LCD color touch panel has its own controller with other controller boards feeding the above information to it via a 3 wire serial connection. The empty space at the bottom is going to be used for touch buttons to set various options and view logs. I am pretty happy with it so far. Just need to dress up the fonts and build the final packaging and cases.
219618

[JimStone]

This is very impressive. Way next level stuff

My electronics are training wheels in comparison

[Skuzzy]

Thank you JimStone.

After having worked in electronic hardware/software design for over 50 years, I like to think I did learn a trick or two. Industrial electronic design is a hoot. Having to design something to hold up in the worst environment possible is a lot of fun.

[Nigel Allen]

Very cool and interesting idea. What platform are you using?

Cheers,

Nige

[Skuzzy]

I am using Atmel micro-controllers for the motor controllers and an STMicroelectronics package for the LCD. I am lucky enough to have a friend who has a PCB surface mount production facility and he is taking the breadboards and turning them into production PCB's. I am 3D printing the cases using ASA and PC.

I just have to stop adding to the project and finish it. Last night I decided to add a couple of light sensors to the project. One for controlling the brightness of the TFT panel. That will keep it from being blinding at night. The other one to bring up the interior lights slowly when they are needed.

[Skuzzy]

For the next step...

I have switched from the 4" TFT panel with a resistive touch screen to a 3.5" IPS panel with a capacitance touch screen. Same resolution. This offers much better contrast, colors, better touch accuracy and significantly improves the viewing angle.

I have improved the fonts.

While thinking about the physical by-pass, in case of electronics failure, I went ahead and coded in a manual code switch in the electronics. Simply touching the name of the row will switch off the internal algorithms and allow you to manually set the duty cycle by touching anywhere on the bar. The bar changes from green to red to indicate it is in manual mode. Touch the name again, and it switches back to automatic control.
219869

Yes, I know about the typo. Those last three lines are placeholders. I am going to do something graphical to replace them. Also going to add a subtle alarm for the front detection when things get too close.

[John Dol]

Looks like you are working with a front sensor to avoid collisions. If you don't have a rear view camera you might want to consider doing this for the rear as well as the rearview out of these cars isnt the best.

HTH

John

[Skuzzy]

Looks like you are working with a front sensor to avoid collisions. If you don't have a rear view camera you might want to consider doing this for the rear as well as the rearview out of these cars isnt the best.

HTH

John

The ultrasonic sensors are really more for parking than anything else. I plan on cameras for front and rear as well. The camera mount locations are too high to pick up anything low to the ground when it gets close to the car.

The sensors are just an insurance policy. I misjudge curb heights all too often.

[Skuzzy]

Version 3

I have switched from text to icons. Made more sense now that they are buttons. I had to rotate the screen for the extended trip down the rabbit hole. I have added all my light switches to the panel and made a graphic for the near detection/collision function.

With this, the network of controllers is up to five, counting the display controller.

The headlight, parking lights, and hazard lights will also have a mechanical backup in case of electronics failure.

All this is really reducing the amount of wiring under the dash and I am having a blast.
220694

[Skuzzy]

Version 4

Made a lot of small adjustments to clear up the icons and get some space for pointers/highlighters.
Touch controls are all working now.
Made some color adjustments.
Added a little bling to the background.
The white bezel is a test print for fitment and marks the start of wrapping it all up, literally. The 10mm 3/8 drive socket is for size reference. Pretty sure you all know that size very well. :D

The last major thing left is flushing out the ultra sonic sensors. I found some weather proof sensors to replace the original ones I was using. They look a lot better as well.

I will probably have to tweak things once I get off the bench and into the real world with this.
221357

As a comment, I have to say. I know a lot of car owners who are probably cringing at the thought of all these electronics. I just want to say, thank you for showing admirable constraints and not brow beating me about the head and shoulders over what I am doing to my build.

[PNWTim]

Great work and impressive to say the least. I saw a meme yesterday that showed a gumball machine full of 10 mm sockets. 4 quarters and you were good to go with a new one to drop down into your dash, never to be seen again.

[AaronR]

I love what you're doing! I plan on adding a lot of electronics to my coupe as well. I can't wait to share what I'm doing when the time comes. Would you mind sharing what weather proof sensors you ended up going with?

[Nigel Allen]

coming along nicely!

[Skuzzy]

I love what you're doing! I plan on adding a lot of electronics to my coupe as well. I can't wait to share what I'm doing when the time comes. Would you mind sharing what weather proof sensors you ended up going with?

Sorry for the delay. Been on my back for the last week. Here you go: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M2GH954?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Got some information from Dakota Digital on an easy method to obtain speed from the speedometer. It is going to simplify a number of things. Meizure also came through with the ideal PWM frequency for their water pump motor.