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Dashboard Linux - 1 Year Later

Posted by michael on from the how-to-raise-your-insurance-rates dept.

bergeron76 writes "It's been just over a year since the DashPC/Dashboard Linux project initially got jump started. Since then, the project has grown by an order of magnitude. The initial codebase has been released on freshmeat and sourceforge, and we're working with several other developers on integrating projects such as Linux GPS Navigation, wardrive mapping, and ODBII automobile interfacing. The potential is endless, considering just a couple of recent news headlines, and how we'd love to eventually bring them to both new and existing automobiles."

9 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. When will the Corporate Dashboard linux come? by freakyfreak2 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I wouldn't be surprised that down the road some major car manufacturers start using this open source code for onboard computer systems. It would save them money, help create a standard for onboard computers and probably bring about a new revolution in the modern society(ok, a bit of hyperbole).

  2. slashdotted by Karamchand · · Score: 4, Informative

    If the server which hosts www.dashpc.com is obviously too slow to handle the load of the typical slashdot effect, why don't you host it at your Sourceforge webspace?

    Just curious :)

  3. One guy's setup by interiot · · Score: 4, Informative

    Is this just one guy's setup, or is it designed to be compatible across many different setups? There are a lot of different input methods (wireless keyboard, mouse, joystick, twiddler, touch-screen), lots of different output devices (sound only w/ text-to-speech, sound with screen, NTSC TV, true VGA, a non-standard LCD screen), several different ways to control powerup/powerdown (eg. tell the inverter to turn off after finishing powerdown, wake on LAN/802.11b, ability to tell the car to auto-start to recharge the battery). A set of software that supports a variety of these would be truly valuable and I'd gladly contribute, but this looks like it's just one guy's particular setup.

    1. Re:One guy's setup by Sarek · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually dashpc.com is his setup but we have a yahoo group and forum for this getting input from tons of people. Also there are pictures and links to other people's sites about this. Some of them use the dashpc code others use MS Windows or their own X11 interface.
      We're trying to get the dashpc code to work with all kinds of configurations. As soon as things start calming down here at my work I'll be contributing to the coding.
      A few of the guys on the list are doing circuit design for startup/shutdown of the pc.

      I've yet to see any bashing for using something else. Everything has been a calm debate weighing the different pros/cons of hardware/software setups. We're really trying to make something that will work for everyone I feel.

      --Sarek

  4. Picture mirror by SoCalChris · · Score: 4, Informative

    From his site...

    http://www.chrisnaimee.com/pics/pics.html

    Enjoy!

  5. Re:Geeks and Gearheads by tejohnson · · Score: 2, Informative

    Aw now, there's nothing like your average 120 MPH DMCA violation...

    You are going to see this a lot more in the near future. Only, it perhaps may be based on standards.

    Like using a 3G phone for the connectivity... Or Bluetoorh for device connectivity... Or a 1394b interface built directly into your car from the factory. Give it a few years ;)

  6. Your insight isn't far out. by anon7864 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Protection from catastrophic software bugs is of great concern whenever you are dealing with human trust in computing machines.

    I think big changes are coming in the auto manufacturing process.

    Here is why:

    There are more man hours spent in cars than airplanes.

    Hardware is basically free. You can get a very powerfull Linux box for under $800.

    Population growth, more cars, trucks, etc on the road means more accidents.

    Auto manufacturers will find it difficult to be able to argue that their cars are safe when they go to a pure drive-by-wire chassis (Audi).

    Eventually you will see a regulatory body for the auto industry that has the same role as the FAA/JAA with planes.

    This agency will require manufacturers to certify their hardware and software development efforts in the same manner as the FAA/JAA.

    The avionics hardware and software guidelines are called DO-160 (environmental), DO 178B (software) and DO-254 (complex hardware), and are published by the RTCA.

    This process of certification for the "auto-onics" will be present to ensure that the car is safe, and can be sold with limited risk to the passengers.

    This is especially important any time you get into a situation when you are talking about cars driving themselves. Which I have no doubt they will be able to do.

    Discussions regarding the certification process of open source collaborative software would certainly be interesting.

  7. Re:I wouldn't want a 500 MHz processor doing my ig by Hieronymous+Cowherd · · Score: 2, Informative

    You can already log a whole bunch of info from the OBD-II port, and there are piggyback and standalone EMS'es that will allow you to do full tuning. You're quite right that general-purpose computers are a bad idea for EMS.
    There's even a Palm app that willl log the OBD-II information. Check my other post for a handful of links to OBD-II monitoring programs, and the free one in the article.

  8. I disagree with your set theory... by jtdubs · · Score: 3, Informative

    You seem to not have a firm grasp of mathematics.

    Endless could be read as "infinite."

    There are an infinite number of real numbers between 0 and 1. That set doesn't include 2 or 3. But, it's still endless.

    Infinite is not the same as all-encompassing.

    There are infinite counting numbers (integers >= 1), but they don't include the negatives or 0, but they are still endless.

    Anyway, you can see my point. Just because you can name two or three things that our not in a given set, doesn't make that set finite.

    To take it even further. thet set of all possible numbers is also not all-encompassing. It doesn't include the letter 'A'. So, it's still a matter of domain. The possibilities can only be infinite, or endless, within their domain.

    Justin Dubs