The Mp3Car Blog

Do you find yourself parking in tight spots all too often? Please don't scratch your bumper trying to fit into that tiny space. To help us carputer users, Robby_BMW has developed a USB interface for aftermarket parking sensor kits. These kits use ultra-sonic sensors which would normally report back to an LED or LCD to indicate the distance between your bumper and whatever else. Robby's interface uses a PIC 18F2550 microcontroller on a custom PCB to send the information to your computer. The device is recognized as a Plug & Play HID. It works as a wired or wireless connection. I suggest you read up on the technicals for customization options as there are limitations depending on your setup. This interface is device specific. Software is available with a multi-lingual Configuration tool. There are also plug-ins for RoadRunner and Centrafuse .

This has sparked much excitement in the Hardware Development section . I suggest you read the thread as Robby has done a great job of documenting the production. Members like Enforcer and _Dejan_ are also contributors and supporters of the project. Yet another ingenious solution to making a stand-alone device work with your computer. Great work guys! Check out the test video below to see it in action.

Parking Radar USB Test

Talk about this topic in the Mp3Car Blog Talk section .

If you have something you feel should be recognized as a community innovation, drop me a PM or post your creation in the User Innovations section .