Mako
Background
After publishing my original obdPi post, I was pleasantly suprised to discover the number of people working on the same types of projects.
Through emails, Reddit threads, and in-person discussions at conferences, I realized there was much more interest in Raspberry Pi/carputer projects than I had first thought! Unfortunately, I also realized there were a number of limitations with the Raspberry Pi approach (namely boot time and power requirements).
As a result, I began exploring alternatives, which eventually led me to the Arduino community. Through some Googling, I discovered a company called Freematics which specializes in automotive Arduino applications.
Thanks to Freematics' awesome documentation and OBD-II adapter, I was able to realize my original dream of a standalone in-car performance monitor. While I had pivoted from my initial design of an integrated, all-in-one carputer, I saw a new opportunity to replicate the type of portable, configurable monitoring provided by the COBB Accessport.
Along the way, I gained a healthy appreciation for building GUIs from scratch while also refreshing my geometry skills (something I realized I really enjoy!). Unfortunately, as with many of my projects, I haven't found the time to continue development.
Objectives
- Learn how to develop with Arduino
- Learn how to design a GUI
- Build a real-time vehicle performance monitor
- Ensure fast boot, high portability