Hi everyone— let me preface with saying that I know this might not be the right place to ask, but it seems like the most relevant place I've come across so far !
My question: Is there any way to get vehicle data (odometer, fuel level, location, etc.) remotely using an API and without an OBD-II dongle?
I have an idea for an app which would need to access data from connected cars. The app would need to access a the user's car's odometer reading each night to check whether or not it had been driven that day (other apps with similar data needs might be car insurance which only bills you on the days you drive, or a fitness app which rewards you if you don't drive).
I know this is possible with an internet connected OBD-II dongle which plugs into a car's diagnostic port, but it is also possible without hardware ?
Related
Hi all - sorry about the guest post, i'm not yet registered but having problems with my email so i'll register properly asap!
Been trying to decide what Blue Angel device to get, so far it's down to the MDA3 or M2k as i really object to o2's obnoxious customer service attitude. however before i get one, can someone answer me some questions?
1) The WiFi - i have a wifi network at home, can the phone browse files and folders on these machines as easily as "network places" on the PC desktop? EG if i have media player running on the phone, can i stream mp3s over the wifi by going into my pc's hdd and choosing the files i want? Then i can hook my phone into the hifi system downstairs and play mp3s through that.
2) What's the battery life like for, say, 1-2 hours talking a day plus a fair bit of fiddling - non-radio stuff like playing games and 'tweaking'.
3) Does the MMC slot support SDIO for a plug-in GPS reciever, or do i need to look at a Bluetooth or wired one (like the TomTom)
4) Is it a walled garden system or can i install any software and go to any websites?
5) Will it charge through the USB Connector or does the ac adaptor need to be plugged into it too? My original SPV wouldn't but my gf's E500 will charge from USB alone.
Thanks a lot....
1) It doesn't support this out of the box, but I believe there is software available. Not really my "thing" though.
2) I get a couple of days from normal useage. For example, it came off the charger at 5pm on Friday and went back on again at 8am this (Monday) morning with about 15% left. A few phone calls, checking e-mail and bit of surfing over wi-fi, bluetooth on most of the time both for headset and testing out my new TomTom GPS, lots of PIM useage.
3) It does support SDIO, but I don't know of an SDIO GPS receiver and, even if there were, it would take up your only memory slot so the maps would have to go into internal memory. I've opted for the TomTom bluetooth and it seems to work fine.
4) Totally open.
5) It trickle charges through the USB. I leave mine in the cradle at work and it takes about 4-5 hours for a full charge.
Anonymous said:
Hi all - sorry about the guest post, i'm not yet registered but having problems with my email so i'll register properly asap!
Been trying to decide what Blue Angel device to get, so far it's down to the MDA3 or M2k as i really object to o2's obnoxious customer service attitude. however before i get one, can someone answer me some questions?
1) The WiFi - i have a wifi network at home, can the phone browse files and folders on these machines as easily as "network places" on the PC desktop? EG if i have media player running on the phone, can i stream mp3s over the wifi by going into my pc's hdd and choosing the files i want? Then i can hook my phone into the hifi system downstairs and play mp3s through that.
2) What's the battery life like for, say, 1-2 hours talking a day plus a fair bit of fiddling - non-radio stuff like playing games and 'tweaking'.
3) Does the MMC slot support SDIO for a plug-in GPS reciever, or do i need to look at a Bluetooth or wired one (like the TomTom)
4) Is it a walled garden system or can i install any software and go to any websites?
5) Will it charge through the USB Connector or does the ac adaptor need to be plugged into it too? My original SPV wouldn't but my gf's E500 will charge from USB alone.
Thanks a lot....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
1) Browsing files on another device is something I haven't done but I'm sure there are ways of doing it. Not sure if the Windows Media Player (V9) can cope with that kind of file streaming. As the headphone socket is not a standard one you probably wont be able to hook it up to the hi-fi straight out of the box. Check the forums for posts on this.
2) Battery life is good on these. The WiFi is the battery eater. I do a fair few phone calls, some tweaking and WiFi and from 8am to 11pm I'm on about 70-60% battery life!
3) As far as I know, the card slot on top is SD only (i will soon be corrected if I'm wrong) but I do know that it is SDIO so cards with extra features should be compatible.
4) You CAN'T install any software you like. You can only install PocketPC applications. There may be some differences between version of PocketPC (eg, 2002 - 2003) but most of them work ok. With regards to the website, about 80% of the ones I go to are ok. The ones that need Java or Macromedia can be a problem.
5) The BlueAngel's can all charge from the USB Cradle alone. I keep my AC Adapter at me Fiancee's for when I stay over there :wink:
Hope this helps!
Dom
Thanks for the replies guys... just to clarify, i didn't mean ANY software, i meant pocket PC stuff - i'm used to my original SPV that would only allow Orange-approved software for quite a while until they allowed you to unlock the software side of it via the website, and again my Symbian A920 on Three did the same thing before i hacked some binaries!
I had a play with my friends M2k, we got it to read a mp3 from a wireless PC but you had to specify it in media player, although we could browse the folders on the PC by entering the location (eg \\HOMEPC\SharedFolder) in File Manager on the M2k, there seemed to be no way of opening the MP3 directly.... however going to media player and using the Play Location (URL) and entering \\HOMEPC\SharedFolder\Track1.mp3 worked fine, the music played on the handset. However it's a bit of a ballache to enter every track name! I assume this may be fixed in Media Player 10....
Thanks for the help on the other stuff... you completely disagreed with several phone shops on the charging this, but you were entirely right!
Hi I know this sounds like a broad idea so ill get straight to the point.
I have a front door lock. I will lickley be getting the August lock or a Kevo. I have wireless lights and a NEST thermostat in the house also, the idea is that I want to create one app to control all my home wireless devices. I might use a rasberry pie which would act as some sort of repeater to link all my IR, RF, Wireless, devices to the Internet so I can use the app from anywhere in the world.
Is this possible? How difficult?
I found a device that can act as the controller to all the individual things in the house and links them to the internet however it uses its own app. any way to override the app with my own design?
Thanks!
Yes it is possible
We used to have a college thesis like this one back in the day. One solution that I can think of right now is you need to have the following:
1. Google App Engine to host a web app that connect your phone and a computer in your home
2. A custom mobile app that will communicate with the web app.
3. A computer / rasberry pi that will query the web app to know which switch to turn on / off. You'll need a USB relay to connect the computer with an appliance or a light bulb.
These are the three things I would start if I was to build one again. Good luck
Hey thanks for the reply.
That is reassuring. I will be communicating wirelessly to the lights however ( or the dimmable wall switch I should say).but that's the least of my concerns.
The main part is what you discussed. Any ideas how much I would need to pay someone to make the app? At there templates? I have some friend who are fantastic programmers however they have not touched apps b4.
Template
cowwalk said:
Hey thanks for the reply.
That is reassuring. I will be communicating wirelessly to the lights however ( or the dimmable wall switch I should say).but that's the least of my concerns.
The main part is what you discussed. Any ideas how much I would need to pay someone to make the app? At there templates? I have some friend who are fantastic programmers however they have not touched apps b4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea how much for the custom app but it cost me about 100 dollars (hardware and software) when I was in college to build the whole thing. Back then I only used SMS to communicate and not the internet. It would be fun building it your self.
If you want a ready made one, there are available ones in the market, and it would cost you about $50. Try searching for Belkin WeMo switch
I have a Pumpkin model KD-C0109-US-A single DIN RK3188 800x600. I would like to use my cell phone to provide a network connection to my HU through USB reverse tethering. The cell phone connects and shows itself as tethered but the HU does not show any network connection. Pumpkin customer service says that reverse tethering is not supported. They suggest using wi-fi hotspot from the cell. I would prefer hard wire through USB so that the phone would be powered while using it as an internet source. The reverse tethering apps have not worked. Is there a firmware upgrade or other work around that will un-cripple the HU and make reverse tethering possbile? Has anyone had success with this? I would also be interested in learning about tried-but-failed approaches to avoid repeating mistakes.
I am really perplexed. The following is the "explanation" I received from the reseller of my unit:
"Thank you for your message/email!
Sorry for replying you late due to different timezone and working time!
Actually as you can see, this is the car radio player, not cellphone, so the Android system was deep modified by the factory, which is already do not have the USB tethering function, cause the USB on the radio is only for USB reading and 3G USB dongle to plug. It is not support that any more. I hope you can understand. If you need to charge your phone, could you mind use your original car USB port to charge it?
Best Regards!"
Does this make sense? Reverse tethering seems to be a common thing in android as in
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2287494
Help!!
Good luck with this..
Not as easy as you may think, and as that thread points out, there are many that can't get it going on multiple units..
I think you are up against an Android coding layering problem in general.. As I have used reverse tethering alot on windows based machines, as in laptops to throw internet out to rooms that have been to far out of range of signal.. And or hotel rooms so I can use a tablet.. But those setups are using dedicated software that is adding another set of drivers into the windows operation system and setting up a new communication set..
So as been pointed out by your supplier..they don't have the necessary "modules" loaded into thier Android base to service this want..
Not saying that it wouldn't be impossible to implement via scripts.... But there will be a bit of work that needs to be done..
i wouldn't mind do this aswell i have the same headunit (well mine is eonon but yeah)
Since AutoMate (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bitspice.automate) has been released in its first stable version I'm thinking about making my car 'smart'.
Until now I don't have any navigation system or else in my car, just a radio. But this app might replace the need to have to buy an Android Auto unit for about 500 bucks or even more.
The way I'm thinking about implementing it would be by using a 7" tablet, anything slightly bigger might be okay as well.
But I'm not sure about how exactly I should start.
My problems:
I think I need a special LTE data plan for the tablet (sharing the data plan of my phone via hotspot is not very intuitive)
Which tablet? (SIM card slot ruins many reasonable ones)
The small things: how to charge the tablet, how to fix it in my car, how to connect audio so my car plays its music
Another very important question: how do I get my phone's notifications on the tablet?
Is there anybody of you already running such a start up?
Or is there anybody planning to do so? What are your approaches?
I want to get this started and with your help I hope I will do so!
you really don't need a data plan for your car. Unless you drive more than 10 hours a day.
My Setup is easy. My cell phone is with me all the time and the internet sharing via Bluetooth is always enabled.
The Android will connect to it using a free tool named BT auto connect whenever the screen is turned on.
So you will have nothing to do but just power your tablet when you start the car.
It will automatically connect and share your phone's internet. It is energy friendly with BT with decent speed for most application except video streaming. (200KB max)
Nexus 7 2013 was the best option for this implementation, and the most common set up involved a paid kernel.
Search (USB ROM Nexus 7 on google). However, I found my tablet drain a lot of battery without reasons.
So I've had this fantasy of installing a tablet in my car's dashboar to act as a car computer. That means I will be able to access my google music cloud, using it as a radio, navigation system, OBD scanner, etc... (I plan on getting a tablet with cellular connectivity).
But the thing that looks most complicated to me is to hook it up with a reverse backup camera and to make the camera feed pop up every time i put the car in reverse, and close when I put it out of the reverse gear.
Does anyone have an idea of how I could make this happen?
You'd have to, not only, find a way to interpret the reverse signaling via USB or through the OBDII connection, but also accept the video input from the backup cam. Considering most aftermarket backup cams use a standard RCA connection for video and reverse light for a trigger, I'd say you're better off either getting a headunit that supports a backup cam input or a rear view mirror with a ghost screen.
onedementedsmurf said:
You'd have to, not only, find a way to interpret the reverse signaling via USB or through the OBDII connection, but also accept the video input from the backup cam. Considering most aftermarket backup cams use a standard RCA connection for video and reverse light for a trigger, I'd say you're better off either getting a headunit that supports a backup cam input or a rear view mirror with a ghost screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I've seen some people on youtube managing with it. Some used RCA to USB OTG adapter.
Some examples:
This guy used this this which connects to the reverse lights' power.
This guy did it with a webcam so there would be no need of using RCA adapter. The only question is how do you make the video feed pop up automatically when going into reverse gear.
You'd have to find something that understood the reverse signaling or interface with the OBDII on the tablet, other than that I have no idea.
Actually, if you just wired the camera to use the 12v+ from the reverse lights, then the camera would only be on when the car was in reverse. Then it's simply a matter of having the system display an image when one is being transmitted, and turn off the app when video transmission stops. Seems this would be much easier than trying to tap in to OBDII and look for an R signal.
rickjames8 said:
Actually, if you just wired the camera to use the 12v+ from the reverse lights, then the camera would only be on when the car was in reverse. Then it's simply a matter of having the system display an image when one is being transmitted, and turn off the app when video transmission stops. Seems this would be much easier than trying to tap in to OBDII and look for an R signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I managed to get to that idea already. But, I will probably abandon this project since in my annoying, full of bureaucracy country it is illegal to mess with your car's electricity if you don't have an electornics engineering degree.
Wow. That is crazy. I had no idea that vehicle laws in Israel were so strict. Would you be allowed to install the system if it all plugged in to the cig lighter? Therefore it could be seen as a complex accessory, rather than a modification? I'm just curious.
rickjames8 said:
Wow. That is crazy. I had no idea that vehicle laws in Israel were so strict. Would you be allowed to install the system if it all plugged in to the cig lighter? Therefore it could be seen as a complex accessory, rather than a modification? I'm just curious.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhm, could be I honestly have no idea
Wifi connected reverse cam
You should check out how Garmin codes for this scenario. The BC30 connects to the reverse 12V and only transmits when in reverse. They use a wifi receiver that is integrated into the power cord. There is a setting in the OS to either auto switch to camera or only switch when told to. They use 2.4GHz
RangerLT said:
You should check out how Garmin codes for this scenario. The BC30 connects to the reverse 12V and only transmits when in reverse. They use a wifi receiver that is integrated into the power cord. There is a setting in the OS to either auto switch to camera or only switch when told to. They use 2.4GHz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean I should check how they code? Will they provide me with a source code?
I am also exploring this idea
SilenceFiction said:
What do you mean I should check how they code? Will they provide me with a source code?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have sourced a wifi based reversing cam , but the problem is that when it transmits my samsung galaxy note drops its internet connection and therefore google maps etc. I am a newbie, so there might be a way to hold two connections open simultaneously? Any ideas?
I think this is going to be so complicated and that the amount of time and effort put into it would far outweight the cost. you can buy very low cost backup camera addons that work in any car on ebay straight out of china. You could probably sell your tablet on a used goods site and buy one of these addons and still have money leftover form the sale of the tablet.