Thread: Fusion Brain Wish List: What do you want to see?

my dream fusion brain would have the voltage divider/input isolator thingy built in. It would also be smaller and take 5V input instead of 12V.

if it was any smaller it would be impossible to use....

Would you really want 5V outputs? (if you don't care about outputs you can power it off the USB bus)

Well, while we are on the issue of size... How big would the ideal Fusion Brain be?

We have to sacrifice a lot of options to make a smaller footprint. Right now it is form factor limited by the amount and size of the connections. If we increased the size, we could increase the ports, or increase the features or both.

But if it is larger than your nano-itx motherboard I think it would be a little rediculous

Thoughts?

a case would be nice, even though it wouldnt apply to me because i'm still rocking a v3 brain. Simple offline programming would help a bunch too but i understand implementing it wouldnt be simple.

1. Can be programmed and works even when the computer is off.
2. OBDII chip onboard.
3. Voltage divider thingy onboard.
4. Reverse voltage protection (if it doesn't already have this)
5. Integrated power regulator (again, not sure if it already has this)
6. Additional features are fine on a separate board that connects via a small ribbon cable or a piggyback header.
7. Possibly an LCD/VFD capability.
8. Bluetooth proximity sensing to allow lock/unlock when it senses your phone.
9. Onboard temperature and voltage sensors.

The features I list are intended to help modders who want digital gauges in their car or need to instrument a car that doesn't have OBD or want to add inputs to it. Stick to the car stuff -that's the niche for this device.

The other 'feature' I'd like to see is a full Linux library that supports all of the capabilities of the FB and perhaps an MDX-style program in Linux or at least a CLI capability. This would allow the FB to be combined with the ultra-small, low power devices like the Sheeva or IGEP V2 and function as an always on interface to the car.

How about shields? Add-on boards like the Arduino uses that add capability? That would allow you to retain your small form factor, but allow people to pick and choose features to add at will.

Documentation

Originally Posted by Sonicxtacy02

a case would be nice, even though it wouldnt apply to me because i'm still rocking a v3 brain. Simple offline programming would help a bunch too but i understand implementing it wouldnt be simple.

Casing is a definate possibility for the next version. Has been on the table for a while, guess it is time to pull the trigger.

Originally Posted by Bugbyte

1. Can be programmed and works even when the computer is off.
2. OBDII chip onboard.
3. Voltage divider thingy onboard.
4. Reverse voltage protection (if it doesn't already have this)
5. Integrated power regulator (again, not sure if it already has this)
6. Additional features are fine on a separate board that connects via a small ribbon cable or a piggyback header.
7. Possibly an LCD/VFD capability.
8. Bluetooth proximity sensing to allow lock/unlock when it senses your phone.
9. Onboard temperature and voltage sensors.

The features I list are intended to help modders who want digital gauges in their car or need to instrument a car that doesn't have OBD or want to add inputs to it. Stick to the car stuff -that's the niche for this device.

The other 'feature' I'd like to see is a full Linux library that supports all of the capabilities of the FB and perhaps an MDX-style program in Linux or at least a CLI capability. This would allow the FB to be combined with the ultra-small, low power devices like the Sheeva or IGEP V2 and function as an always on interface to the car.

Interesting ideas. 4 will be implemented, 5 is already implemented but will be done in a more sophisticated way in this next version. 9 is quasi there, the whole board is a voltage sensor. We could think about an onboard temperature sensor but if it is something that less than 1% of the people use and it raises the price for everyone it might not happen. 8/Blueooth is going to have to be an expansion board at best. It is way too pricy to get licensing for bluetooth on small scale, it would double the current cost of the FB by itself.

As for Linux, I am already working on a more cross-platform friendly application. It should be able to be compiled with mono.

Originally Posted by malcom2073

How about shields? Add-on boards like the Arduino uses that add capability? That would allow you to retain your small form factor, but allow people to pick and choose features to add at will.

And photon torpedos! Do you mean shields as in the metal mechanical dividers to prevent EMI/EMF, or something else? Addonboards have been discussed, and actually were on a beta version I had made last year. I think it is a strong possibility that this will be incorporated.

Originally Posted by btilford

Documentation

Ah yes... Documentation. I think I agree with some of my professors that documentation is the hardest part of any engineer's job. It is not something we like to do, but it is something that must be done. We will try our best to make this next version as transparent as possible.

I would put in a huge vote not to put too much on board.... the whole idea of breaking things up into modules has worked really well for keeping the price and form factor down (and allowing users to only spend money on the things they use).

Mmm .Net goodness - could you offer a cross platform library for interfacing with the brain also (instead of having to install the whole gui)?

My big feature request would be allowing it to do some basic tasks while the PC is off but I know thats not an easy feature request.