Raspberry Pi Forums

Hi people,
I surfed for hours (even days) to find a simple solution for this: I would like to connect my smartphone to my car system in such a way that I can use the OEM touch screen to control the Android phone. (A toggle switch could make it possible to switch from the system car to the phone if a wire is used. But perhaps it could also be achieved by Bluetooth the car is HFP, A2DP and AVRCP compatible.)
The main reason I want this for, is that the original SatNav system in the car is pretty useless. My phone provides the answer, but makes it hard to operate and monitor. Being able to use the OEM screen of the car would be a dream.
So far I found a few options(Diamond multimedia, xCarLink and Mimicsx2, but they all seem rather uncertain. One claims to solve the problem cleverly:
MimicsX2 features:
✓On the fly SDcard updates for future features
✓Bluetooth wireless connection for smartphone touch interface
✓Compatible with iOS / Android (iOS requires jailbreak)
✓Rapid touchscreen calibration

What’s in the box:
✓customGadz MimicsX2 main module
✓Touchscreen switch sender to suit all 4-wire resistive touchscreens
✓Power cable and connecting harness
✓4-wire extension adapter and ribbon cable
But they seem to take money and never deliver. So far I cannot find testimonies that are positive. The site itself claims they are out of stock.

However, I found a similar question like mine in your forum from about 3 years ago, stating that it could not be done because the RP did not run Android. I understand this has now changed. So I pop the question again:
Can I control a Smartphone from my Vehicle dash touch screen? And would the RP 2 that I have come as a crucial part of the solution?

Thanks for any reaction!
Kurt

What you're thinking of is overkill. You might as well skip the phone connection, and add a GPS and appropriate software to the Pi if you're going down that route.

Easier solutions:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/371399142411
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/311273972518

That way you've got complete access to everything on your phone, without having to do anything overly complex.

Kurtbe wrote:Can I control a Smartphone from my Vehicle dash touch screen? And would the RP 2 that I have come as a crucial part of the solution?
Thanks for any reaction!

Thanks for permission.

I read all that and I see where the smartphone comes in and I see where the OEM controls come in, but I don't see where the pi comes in. Is it just that a pi is the solution to every problem? Occasionally, don't they say, let them eat cake?

If I had to guess, I would guess that all the OEM controls in cars are proprietary to whoever made the OEM controls. Now it would seem like, having recently looked at them, that Nissan and Toyota bought their new push button start controls from the same folks, and I expect there are other instances of that sort of thing. Doesn't VW, Audi, Porsche and BMW and probably MB tend to all use the same brand of transmissions? It's like it's a German thing.

OK, so you might find a limited number, at each generation, of different OEM controls that are relevant for controlling your smartphone from your car, maybe. But are you going to figure out your specific version and reprogram it somehow? Are you going to crack open your console and rewire the thing into the pi? Is that where the pi comes from? Obviously more information is in order, but on the surface I would think this is, well, a fantasy.

IMHO it would be more plausible to replace BOTH
the existing system and the Smartphone with a Pi-based
system (this has been done). There are NO step-by-step
instructions for this , and you obviously need to know what
you're doing.


ghans

Thanks for the reply's.
Well, As I said, this may well have been a dream.
Based on the mimicsX2, it seems to be possible to do it, (The mimicsX2 is currently not available.)
and thus I thought... and hoped... and dreamt.

It's just that the system in the car is really crap.
And the "easier" solutions really look awful in a Jaguar xf...
Replacing the whole system is (to my capabilities) impossible because the existing system controls 80% of the car's hardware.
If I could have gotten the android satnav on my phone, which is far superior to the system in the Jaguar, onto the screen of the Jag and control it from there, it would be leap years ahead. Just 'miracast' the output of the phone to the Jags monitor, like it does now for audio (I can integrate the phone' Satnav audio on the Jag's system, but there is no place where I can put the screen on a safe or esthetical place... hence the longing to use the built in screen.)
And it just seems so easy when all I have to do is connect my phone to my laptop, or TV, and there you go...

There is a lot of frustration among Jag owners and I know a lot of people are looking for a solution to this problem. But so far nobody seems to have quite cracked it.
And by the looks of it, I will probably not be the first one...

Looking forward to any of your wise thoughts...

Kurt

Kurtbe wrote:And the "easier" solutions really look awful in a Jaguar xf...

I agree. Personally, I would hire someone to give me directions.

ahh, first world problems!

Now on to the final question..

Kurtbe wrote:Can I control a Smartphone from my Vehicle dash touch screen?

Unless the manufacturer provides this sort of feature, the short answer is no. The auto makers generally don't want you messing with their computers.. after all it likely runs and/or controls a lot of systems on that expensive car. They don't want your errant python code mucking up the vehicle. Now if you have a cousin that works for jaguar that can compile and flash some custom code for your dash panel..

Regards,
-Moses