All screen shots scaled down, so they're a little blurry. They're in PNG format as well, so if you can't see them under IE (some versions don't support .PNG), try with Firefox.
First of all, this is what my installation looks like:
The top dial is a Logitech space navigator too-many-axis control knob. It's used for all sorts of functions.
And, the app itself. Media player:
The media player supports both audio and video (using mplayer). You can seek through tracks and movies, play/pause, skip, change the volume, and many other functions using the space navigator (the dial at the top).
A major feature I wanted was a software crossover. Basically, instead of using passive or active electronic crossovers to filter frequencies from the various channels (ie. removing treble from subs, or bass from tweeters), I used an 8-channel sound card and amplifier to drive the speakers directly, using ALSA's LADSPA plugin functionality and high quality filters.
They're fully configurable from the interface.
Sound configuration
Profiles can be created and used for different music types, driving conditions, etc.
FM radio is provided by a USB FM radio stick tied into the car antenna:
Nothing too fancy.
Ok, now on to the good stuff!
Hit mode, then vehicle instrumentation, and:
More information than you could hope for! Every running parameter in the system can be displayed as a gauge and/or graph. Tapping a gauge face zooms in and displays the graph on the right. The bottom right shot shows the effective force meter. Who needs a skid pad?
Information is collected from a number of sensors - an IMU (accelerometers/gyros), a GPS, and an OBD-II ECU link. The sensors are controlled and integrated from these panels:
They use a complex series of algorithms for high resolution estimates of parameters like speed, even when the ECU isn't feeding data fast enough. It also guesses (quite accurately) the current gear and when you're shifting.
So what can you do with all this data? Well:
For one, create dynographs! Yes, they're accurate (assuming you've correctly guessed your vehicle weight). You select your options and press launch. It waits for you to pop the clutch, then starts recording. If you tap the graph at the end, it saves a PNG file along with a .DAT containing data every 50ms of the run (configurable). This data includes engine RPM, throttle position, speed, forces, etc.
The data panels show historical peaks and trip information:
If you select "Save trip data" then each time you shut down, it saves a log of your trip with all data logged every 500ms (configurable), for later analysis. You can learn things like how your intake air temperature affects timing advance, how speed affects milage, or even how music affects how you accelerate.
Finally, though I have no screen shots, it also runs Windows XP in a virtualbox instance when you click GPS navigation. XP then runs iNavigator to provide GPS navigation with sound. The XP window appears seamlessly inside the Carputer::Console frame.
Anyway, still a work in progress... but it's coming along. Comments?
