The Well-Linuxed Car

[Alma J Wetzker]

You will need to be carefull buying OTS parts.  The expected operating 
temperatures inside the cab will be out of spec for most comercial devices, 
thought mil spec should work.  You may also consider if any of these sensors 
need to be mounted outside the cab, making survivability an issue (as well as 
keeping the lens clean).

Sorry to try being practical, but a car is a harsh, HARSH environment for 
electronic gizmo's and gadgets.

     -- Alma

Ted Ozolins wrote:
> Net Llama! wrote:
> 
>> On 11/29/03 12:07, Wade Barocsi wrote:
>>
>>> On Saturday 29 November 2003 03:04 am, Kurt Wall wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi, List,
>>>>
>>>> So, yesterday, my 1993 Mercury Sable threw a rod, or was about to. I
>>>> replaced it today with a 2002 Ford Focus. Here's the challenge: trick
>>>> it out with all the Linux-powered whizzo-bango gadgets and technology
>>>> I can.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ________
>>>
>>> Is this a a do-it-yourself project, or are you looking to build upon 
>>> existing projects.
>>>
>>> www.tuxmobil.org is an interesting source of information on mobile 
>>> type projects.
>>
>>
>>
>> Also depends on how knowledgable you are about auto electronics & 
>> mechanics.  Another possible project that comes to mind is a MP3 
>> jukebox to replace the radio in the car.
>>
> Checking catalogs at work I've noticed that there is a enormous models 
> of very tiny camera's (digital) that would work great for blind_spot 
> observation. Advantech (www.advantech.com) makes a great single board 
> computer (we've used these in automating asphalt paving trains) It will 
> directly drive an LCD display and has enough input (USB, serial, ps/2 
> and parallel) to accommodate the most complex "linux_mobile. You can use 
> an hd or memory card to hold the os or hd for the os and memory card for 
> added features that can be upgraded on your desktop computer and of 
> course implemented on the m_computer.  With proper interfacing one 
> should be able to view left and right cameras at the same time (split 
> screen)   or toggle from left to right.  The position of the cameras 
> could be controlled using existing 2-axis stepper controllers or 2-axis 
> voice coil controllers. If color is not an issue there are a lot of low 
> light cameras that would work nicely for daytime or night. I'm sure that 
> with some extra work one could add just about anything that the 
> instruments on the dash can do ie: low fuel warning, close proximity 
> alert and even such tings as ground speed indicators or road surface 
> sensors (icy or dry etc) . the possibilities are endless.  There are all 
> kinds of dedicated ic's that can be integrated into any computer to 
> monitor or controll just about anything on this planet with freely 
> available source code to accomplish it.  Heck there are components out 
> there that could tell you your body temp and the body temp of the person 
> sitting next to you.  The possibilities are endless, the most complex 
> system can be accomplished.  Now it all depends on your wish list.  What 
> are all the items or functions that you would like to see on the 
> "Ultimate_Linux_Mobile"
>