SatNav Android integration - interim project update

D

danmiddle2

Active member
Far from finished, but here is a video showing my progress so far on integrating an Android tablet into the original screen.
[youtube]M_-dhHsO5s4[/youtube]
http://youtu.be/M_-dhHsO5s4

Next step is to get the stepper motor working with the buttons so it behaves as originally intended.

Let me know what you think.

Dan

Some links to the programs used - full how to will follow when I am done!
Apex - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.anddoes.launcher&hl=en_GB
Car dashdroid - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nezdroid.mycardashboard&hl=en_GB
Tomtom - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tomtom.ukireland&hl=en_GB
Dashcommand - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.palmerperformance.DashCommand&hl=en_GB
Torque - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque&hl=en_GB
Tasker - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm&hl=en_GB
Secure settings - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.intangibleobject.securesettings.plugin&hl=en_GB
 
Excellent. I had been planning to do exactly the same thing but have been unable to source a donor shell.

I will be following this with interest :ugeek:
 
Thanks, interesting to see it coming together.

Any plans to hook up to the steering wheel controls? (eg via ibus)
 
Mafoo said:
Excellent. I had been planning to do exactly the same thing but have been unable to source a donor shell.

I will be following this with interest :ugeek:
Click to expand...

I will document a full howto when I am done and you can pick and choose ideas from that. The interesting part is going to be getting the stepper motor to work, but I have ordered an Arduino board and stepper motor controller, so this should be do-able. I will base the triggers on the buttons and an ignition live.

In terms of the Huawei Ascend Mate, I really couldn't find a better candidate (annoyingly I paid £350 for mine imported, but they are now on Vodafone PAYG for £250). The on screen buttons stay on the right hand side (close to the driver!), but rotate so they don't look messy when on their side. This is better than having a bar across the bottom (ala Nexus 7) where the buttons are in effect recessed too low into the dash to be easily usable.

In terms of fitting, there is a slight gap. It's not correctly fitted in the video... but when permanently fitted in the housing there is ~1mm top and bottom and ~1.8mm either side. This is plain black though, so I don't think it's an issue. Also, when sitting centrally, the angle reduces the visibility of any gap at the sides.

When I am finished - you're welcome to have the dummy phone. It's proved ery useful for cutting things in the housing / using as a template.
 
Stuart Truman said:
Time to use the word as it should be...

Awesome!

Really well done, that looks really promising.
Click to expand...

Thanks - updates may be a little slow, but I'll post progress when I have any.

JamieT said:
Thanks, interesting to see it coming together.

Any plans to hook up to the steering wheel controls? (eg via ibus)
Click to expand...

It already works with the steering wheel controls for audio, but this is via Bluetooth A2DP - nothing too clever there.

I am interested in the potential for having a way of scrolling through the screens without having to rely on the touchscreen (ala BMW iDrive)... but tbh, this isn't going to be practical as all of the apps I am using would need to support the same mechanism and be able to play nicely with eachother. We'll see though, the advantage of a platform like Android is that I can build on this as options become available.

All the best,

Dan
 
Dan, that is absolutely awesome! You've done a great job integrating the tablet, it looks really good. You certainly have some skills to be able to do this...

I'll look forward to further updates, this will be very interesting indeed 8)
 
just out of interest.. where did you manage to find the monitor casing?
I'm guessing you can't just order the plastics from a stealer?
 
sk93 said:
just out of interest.. where did you manage to find the monitor casing?
I'm guessing you can't just order the plastics from a stealer?
Click to expand...

Got to give credit to Paul (Rookie975) on that one. He replaced his nav screen and let me have his old one for a bargain as he was curious to see how I got on with the project.
 
JamieT said:
Thanks, interesting to see it coming together.

Any plans to hook up to the steering wheel controls? (eg via ibus)
Click to expand...

Just been looking into this and it appears I could use it to control radio functions etc, if I hook up to iBus. Something like this might be an interesting part of the project http://www.startercircuits.com/
 
That's great. I see you're using Tasker. Is that what is initiating the state of the tablet on start up etc?
 
Great progress, thanks for sharing. I've been looking to do this for a while now, I've been on the look out for broken sat nav screens for an eternity! I wish the damn thing would break more frequently :P
 
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