Geek my ride
by Jonathan Oxer, Geek My Ride
Jonathan Oxer’s Mazda RX-8, fitted with an ALIX 1 for data logging and remote management, on Mount Wellington alongside Jared “Flame” Herbohn’s highly modified Nissan 300ZX
Geek My Ride is a project to understand and document the electronics in modern cars, and then to extend it to provide additional functionality not intended by the manufacturer.
Many people have mounted computers in their cars over the years (often referred to as a “carputer”) but they are usually large, high-power systems intended for desktop use and so they can only be run while the car is running. One of the objectives for Jonathan Oxer’s Mazda RX-8 was to have his car “live” and connected to the Internet 24×7, even when not being driven, so it was critical to select a low-power computer that could be run continuously without flattening the car battery.
An ALIX 1 was selected because it is fast enough to run a full Linux distribution (Ubuntu, in this case) but draws very little power (~6W).
The ALIX 1 is mounted in a custom subframe inside the boot of the RX-8 along with a USB hub, charger and battery
A mounting frame was assembled to fit into a recess in the base of the RX-8 boot, with room to mount the ALIX 1, a USB hub, a charge circuit, and a deep-cycle 28A/h sealed-lead-acid (SLA) battery. The ALIX 1 runs continuously from the SLA battery, which in turn is charged using an “intelligent” battery charger which tops it up whenever the car is running. The charger is designed for topping up deep-cycle batteries from solar arrays but also works perfectly in this application.
The ALIX 1 is connected to a variety of systems in the car, including:
OBD-II interface
The OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) port under the dash is where a mechanic normally plugs in a laptop to run diagnostics on the engine management system. In Jonathan’s RX-8 the ALIX 1 is permanently connected to the port and polls the ECU every few seconds to store dozens of parameters about vehicle performance including speed, RPM, intake manifold air temperature, engine load, fuel level, fuel pressure, fuel injection mode, timing, and many other items. All data is stored indefinitely in a MySQL database.
3G mobile broadband
The car is connected continuously to the Internet so it can be accessed for remote diagnostics or even to start and stop the engine by remote control.
Ignition manager
Jonathan has built a custom ignition manager based on an Arduino development board, allowing the ALIX 1 to have software control of engine start, engine stop, accessory power, door lock / unlock, and boot release.
Wifi
The car acts as a mobile access point, allowing authorised laptops to associate with it to access vehicle management functions directly or share its 3G Internet connection.
GPS
A USB GPS receiver allows the data logging system to store GPS values with every set of engine management parameters, which can then be used to match engine events to locations, display direction information, or generate “tracks” showing previous journeys.
RFID reader
An RFID reader is mounted in the back right window of the car, and when it detects an authorised RFID tag it unlocks the car and starts the engine automatically. Jonathan has an RFID tag surgically implanted in his left arm, allowing him to unlock and start the car simply by putting his arm near the window.
Audio system
Crowds around the car while it was on display at Wrest Point Casino
The car was featured at linux.conf.au in Hobart in January 2009 in a conference talk titled “Geek My Ride”, and was also displayed to the public at the Wrest Point Casino along with the highly modified Nissan 300ZX owned by Jared “Flame” Herbohn during the conference Open Day.
More information about Geek My Ride is available online at www.geekmyride.org.
– Jonathan Oxer, Geek My Ride
Want more great articles like this?
Sign up for email updates and get them delivered straight to your inbox.
We'll also donate $5 to Voyage Linux, to support the ongoing development of this fantastic software.
Sign me up!
