Raspberry Pi Car Computer Autopi Carputer
Raspberry Pi Car Computer Autopi Carputer
Have you ever wanted to add an entertainment system to your car, only to find that most units are expensive, come with a lackluster feature set, and feature a terrible interface?
Well, now you can build your own Raspberry Pi-powered car computer with AutoPi! Monitor your car’s vitals, watch movies, play retro games wiith RetroPie, use open source mapping tools, browse Spotify, and more — not while driving, of course.
AutoPi is a complete IoT platform for your car, allowing you to quickly and easily build your own extensible car computer using a Raspberry Pi.
Thanks to a successfully funded Kickstarter campaign, AutoPi allows you to build a Raspberry Pi car computer complete with touchscreen — and add it to any vehicle using an ODB-II port.
Nearly* any vehicle built in 1996 or later uses a standardized ODB-II port to allow communication with the car’s computer. This is the same port used to diagnose issues when your “Check Engine” light turns on. If you look beneath your dash, you’ll see this port!
* A small number of vehicles built in or after 1996, including certain electric vehicles, are exempt from the ODB-II port requirement. Thanks to howchooer sh4un for pointing this out!
Legal note: Be sure to check the laws in your state/country before building your own AutoPi. Some locales forbid “entertainment” systems from being visible to the driver.
- The final setup
- Assemble the case
- Install the AutoPi adapter
- Install the AutoPi SD card image
- Mount the AutoPi
- Connect the dongle
- Create your AutoPi account
- → Show all
- Install and configure the AutoPi GUI
- Further customizations
- Learn more
Because the AutoPi connects to your car’s ODB-II port, it can monitor your car’s vitals and alert you to issues.
Rather than requiring custom hardware or a 3D-printed case, the AutoPi utilizes the SmartPi Touch case. See the following video for detailed instructions on assembling the case:
The AutoPi adapter is made up of two parts: a board that connects to the Raspberry Pi 3 itself, and a dongle that connects to your car’s ODB-II data port.
The AutoPi library itself is available as a pre-made SD card image. Use a tool such as Etcher to burn the SD card image directly onto your Pi’s SD card.
Using GoPro mounts, the AutoPi can mount anywhere. If you want to get fancy, you can integrate it directly into your dashboard. Otherwise, just mount it to your dashboard or windshield.
Connect the AutoPi dongle to your car’s ODB-II port. This port can be found beneath the steering wheel, somewhere on the driver’s side.