My first CarPC in my Subaru Legacy (Estate) - With LED sign! - Page 2

Bxsteez · 09-20-2008, 02:49 AM

I must say i've never been this impressed with a homebrew build. It seems like everything you have is custom.

I would like to see more detail on your build but since its over i guess seeing build pics is impossible at this point. I've been to your website and there isn't much info on there on how it was done either. For instance how you do the tracking would be excellent information to have. The voice command is also amazing! I assume this is going to take much more work if u were to use it with a current front end software. I would love to be able to setup a button to do this on my build.

All and all this is one amazing design!!

AvWuff · 09-21-2008, 02:08 PM

I have a few build pics on my site, but I've also been adding features over time -- I can certainly answer your questions, however.

The tracking is done by my software package. Basically, it uses a MySQL database to keep a log, once every 2 seconds, of my latitude & longitude, time & date, and vehicle speed. This information is stored on the car, and broken into "trips" based on how much time has passed since the last "trip" ended.

When I arrive home in my garage, my Car PC syncs up with my home database, and uploads all of the track data. This takes just a few seconds. Finally, a web script on my web server takes that information and formats it into lines and markers on Google Maps via the GMap API.

Voice command is much easier: Just download the Microsoft Speech SDK 5.1, for free from MS. It comes with samples on how to do all sorts of voice stuff, like dictation, grammar recognition, and text-to-speech. The button on my dash trips a relay connected to my Arduino circuit, which sends a packet of data down the serial port. My software picks up that packet and mutes the sound, initiating "listen" mode. I've also got a Andrea Soundbeam Stereo USB Microphone on the rear-view mirror.

I hope this helps!
-av

td_civ · 09-21-2008, 04:00 PM

man i really like how you setup your car pc well done

BiG K · 09-21-2008, 05:41 PM

You my friend are L33T!

Bxsteez · 09-21-2008, 05:45 PM

I kinda figured out how you got the button work. I'm working on a plugin for centrafuse 2.0 that can do the same thing. Of course my C++ is a little rusty so its taking a little bit but oh well... Thanks for the idea. I may get all my steering wheel controls back :-D

protias · 09-21-2008, 09:24 PM

Awesome install.

froalskiner · 09-23-2008, 03:46 PM

Wow...super nice install...

Bxsteez · 09-23-2008, 07:36 PM

Gotta give you a little more credit!! Thanks for doing ur install it pushed me to work on this centrafuse plugin that gives com port support. EXCELLENT INSTALL!!!

Bxsteez · 09-27-2008, 11:30 PM

Hey AwWuff,

Where did you get that microsoft sync sound? I've been trying to find it all day.

ezland00 · 09-27-2008, 11:51 PM

how do you intergrate the rear backup camera using USB camera? i am very interested on doing it.

AvWuff · 09-28-2008, 12:56 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Bxsteez

Hey AwWuff,

Where did you get that microsoft sync sound? I've been trying to find it all day.

I assume you are referring to the duh-duh-da! that plays when I hit the green button. I swiped the audio files from voicecmd.exe, the voice program on my pocketPC. But I didn't want them to be identical so I doubled up the first "duh".

I've attached the file to this post.

Quote:

how do you intergrate the rear backup camera using USB camera? i am very interested on doing it.

The camera is a cheapo little NTSC video camera -- $25 at Tiger Direct. Then, I've got a $40 super-wide lens on it. Finally, to show the image, it's connected to a USB TV Tuner "MSI VOX BOX" that I bought years ago and don't really use anymore. To actually display the image, I use Flash -- it's super easy and more importantly, it makes mirroring the image really easy (since you want it to be mirrored, like your rear-view mirror is).

Cheers,
-av

Bxsteez · 09-28-2008, 01:11 AM

Thanks a lot. I got centrafuse to react the same way as you have ur setup except for one minor flaw... I haven't quite figured out how to make it chime again when the voice command ends. I should be able to figure it out soon. Thanks for all assistance

ezland00 · 09-28-2008, 01:33 AM

does the camera turn on when you shift the gear to reverse or did you have to press a command?

MoFo · 09-28-2008, 03:26 PM

wow, that is an excellent setup.

I've given up on a solid voice command but you have peaked my interest again!

Could you elaborate a little more on your voice command? I would like to have a push button activation but I don't understand the relay part...

Again, awesome system!

AvWuff · 09-28-2008, 10:50 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by ezland00

does the camera turn on when you shift the gear to reverse or did you have to press a command?

When I switch into reverse gear, a small relay that is connected to my rear reverse lights activates, telling the computer (via the Arduino board) that I am in reverse. The camera appears automatically. It disappears when you're no longer in reverse, after you drive at a speed of more than 8 km/h (so if you are going back and forth, back and forth, the camera doesn't keep appearing and disappearing like some cars)

Quote:

Could you elaborate a little more on your voice command? I would like to have a push button activation but I don't understand the relay part...

Certainly. The pushbutton simply trips a small relay, also connected to the Arduino board. This tells the computer that I've hit the button. It pauses the music, plays the "duh-duh-dah!" sound, then mutes the system (in case some other app is making noise) and activates the voice command "listener".

If you don't say anything within 4 seconds, or it doesn't recognize you within 10 seconds, it plays the "buh" noise, unmutes the audio, and resumes the music.

If it recognized a command (depending on the command), it issues a verbal confirmation and then executes the command. If you hit the button again while it is speaking the confirmation, it instantly aborts. This is so that if it misheard you, you can cancel it and try again.

I did all of this with the Microsoft Speech API SDK (free download from Microsoft) and VB6.

Thanks for your interest!
-av

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