How hard would it be to activate android auto and have it use the device's own peripherals (display, microphone, speakers), instead of outputting via USB to the car's display and use its buttons/speakers/microphone?
Not all of use have the budget/predilection to buy a brand new car or head unit just to use what seems to be a very useful piece of software. Some of us just want to use the phone in a car dock, like it's been the norm until now.
I am sure we will see hundreds of posts asking this question.
Likely #1 FAQ for Android Auto.
See my post on the new app and it's developer mode.
If developers can see and use the UI pretty well without a head unit, presumably on a tablet or larger phone, then non-developers should be able to do the same.
I've also asked this on the android dev google+ post and the answer was, as expected, very evasive.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AndroidDevelopers/posts/21Zscmv7xvA
I plan on going through the Android Auto Development API to see if there is anything we can utilize.
Also just posted a question to that G+ post:
5:24 PM
Will the Android Auto software provided to manufacturers to be installed into the head units be released to public? If not, what is the process someone or a company can become a manufacturer for an Android Auto head unit?
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Lets see if they reply
IceBone said:
I've also asked this on the android dev google+ post and the answer was, as expected, very evasive.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AndroidDevelopers/posts/21Zscmv7xvA
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The blog post is from yesterday but the linked video is from last November:
http://android-developers.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/take-your-apps-on-road-with-android-auto.html
There is a lot of buzz out there right now about "how can I use this on my Phone/Tablet"
I love the idea of the AutoMate idea but like others what I am wanting is this.
Use Case: Turn a non LTE Nexus 7 or other tablet into a head client (IE Dumb Terminal).
I still want to power the unit with my phone as the Android Auto specs lay out. I just want to use a permanently mounted Nexus 7 as the controller as the new head units are doing. There is a chance this could also be done using a touch LCD display and a RaspberryPI mounted in car.
I know many have searched for specs on how we create a client. I suspect there may be some exclusivity deals for release or first crack at it in place with auto manufacturers. If we can figure out via API how to plug a phone into a Nexus 7 and control it via its screen that would be wonderful!!
The information has to be out there. After all, the upcoming Parrot RNB 6 looks to be a simple Android device strapped onto an amplifier.
windraver said:
I plan on going through the Android Auto Development API to see if there is anything we can utilize.
Also just posted a question to that G+ post:
Lets see if they reply
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I think Google will keep their source code secret, both for the phone part, as well as any software that might run on head units.
Keeping Android app source code secret is the new normal for Google and has been for quite some time IMO, unless there is a compelling business reason to open source it.
manorton said:
The information has to be out there. After all, the upcoming Parrot RNB 6 looks to be a simple Android device strapped onto an amplifier.
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IMO the info is secret and the rest of us will have to reverse engineer.
Their motive for keeping it secret is so car manufactures have another pricey option to charge people for
Medevila said:
Their motive for keeping it secret is so car manufactures have another pricey option to charge people for
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I think they have multiple motives.
One is that Google fears legislation that would kill Android Auto. If people get distracted and collisions result, regulators will be harsher.
Lawsuits are another risk.
Google also wants to better control Android Auto, as they do with Wear and any device that ships with Google Apps.
Android Auto without car headunit?
Turn your phone or tablet into an Android Auto device with Headunit or Automate
Want to give Android Auto a try, but don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a new car or hundreds of dollars on a new receiver? You could just attach your phone or tablet to the dashboard and install an app that gives you an Android Auto-like experience instead.
There are at least two apps under development designed to bring Android Auto features to any Android device.
It was just announced at Google I/O that Android Auto will be updated to include operating natively on your device without a head unit, using the same UI as if there were a head unit. The update for Android Auto that provides this functionality has not been released yet but it is coming.
Hey the problem i had that AA is not available in our country still i managed to install it on my dads lenovo vibe k4 note. (stock lollipop and will be receiving marshmallow..dad will kill me if i root it). ... work perfect but the problem os here.....My dad recently bought Hyundai i20 Active (December 25 2015 India) and i plugged the USB and nothing happened... OK i switched BTW input modes and video modes but of no use. Neither AA detects nor my in dash navigator ( The navi is built in stock one that it provide in all i20... and i had hard time finding its source code in www.opensource.lge.com[as mention in manual])
OK so any trick, tips, anything......bcoz i want that so badly........
Another thing.....why not Google manufacture GPS cards like this so anyone can use it in stock,aftermarket , Garmin GPS and Map my India navigation.... the craziest thing is the second image which is GPS card is nothing but an 8 GB SD card loaded with map data....why not Google load their auto thingy in it......and there is no such complications bcoz my music player , park assist etc has different interface and map has different interface. And manual says i can replace it with any map data card ....( I've read a post over car hackers guide where they unbelievably changed the whole goddamn stock firmwares.
PS note i want android auto only not any alternative..... ive tried alternatives.but im not getting the vibe that i have something "auto".
Sent from my Panasonic P81 using XDA Labs
After Google announced almost a full year ago that Android Auto would support phone connections without needing to rely on a USB cable, I have yet to find any news on this.
Is this still happening in the aftermarket HU's? Hoping this doesn't turn into another Android Wear situation where it lacks the attention it needs to make it a market hit.
Hi,
This is called "WIFI Projection", and it's included (hidden) in the last release. No one knows how to enable AND use it. Still in alpha!
I hope current HU with wired AA support can be upgraded to wireless with a simple USB dongle (not a Wifi dongle, but with an AA wireless adapter).
Just to make sure I understood correctly: the option is there in the OS, but it doesn't work on any device as of yet? As if the software support is there, but the hardware support is not?
I'm a bit disappointed that Android Auto wasn't discussed at the I/O keynote... I think there's lots of usability updates required to improve it...
Relevant:
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2017/0...finally-ready-to-talk-about-its-car-os/?amp=1
What gets me: is it really necessary to use a a different name for this? Chromecast comes in audio-only and video forms, Pixel comes in "XL" and "C" forms also, can't they just name it something like "Android Auto Standalone" and call it a day? It serves the same end goal of getting Android into your car's radio/head unit.
Still no news of the phone-based Android Auto and wireless that I can find. That said, if everything will be integrated into the radio to begin with, I'd welcome the lack of tethering. Might even get back to developing Android apps for myself now that I have a use for them, but for my car this time! Hopefully the aftermarket guys will be smart enough to bypass Android for the sound processing though. Would hate for a resource-hogging app to kill my radio!
Hello guys, I'm planning to build my first carputer. 2 years ago I have modified a tablet, Asus zenpad 8, very similar to Nexus 7 in my opinion. Now I want something more.
What I want:
Fully automated pc that works exactly like an android head unit but much better and more flexibility when it comes to external devices like an external DAC with optical output. Actually this is the main reason for not buying an android head unit, didn't find one that works very well with an external DAC. Some other things that I want from this carputer: the compatibility with steering wheel controls, backup camera, fm or even DAB radio, gps, phone calls( via bluetooth), 4G internet and so on. Many of those things are pretty simple to integrate, will talk about them later.
The components:
1. The pc - didn't think about it yet because there are loads of mini pc on the market for good prices. The only problem I'm thinking is the start up on ignition. First I wanted to go for a Remix mini pc but I don't know how could I make it start on ignition and after that automatically play the last song. If I would go for a normal PC, I found a smart PSU which has the possibility of ignition start and stop and puts the computer in sleep mode. That way I will avoid the waiting time for the boot, in fact the computer will be permanently turned on. The only problem I can think of, is the compatibility of this PSU with the android Remix OS. Is it possible?
I've tested the Remix OS and I like it, very quiq, easy to use in car with a touch screen, support all the external devices( wifi, 4g, fm and DAB, external DAC with optical output) and the launcher can be changed. I know I can opt for Windows OS and that way I will be sure that the PSU works but in my opinion windows is not so "mobile friendly", not so easy to use in car.
2. The screen: not so many to talk about, found on ebay some 9" tft touch screens, very good resolution, hdmi connectivity and USB for touch. The best thing with these screens is the AV2 input for the backup camera. The screen automatically switch to this input, has guidance lines, and this way I solved the problem with the camera. And also is quite cheap.
3. Steering wheel controls. Found on ebay the Joycon steering wheel adapter that is compatible with Android. I just have to make an initial configuration and that's it, nothing more, simply works through USB.
4. The other external devices: all of them can be found on ebay for good prices. The only thing that worries me is the bluetooth compatibility. I remember when I built that Asus zenpad tablet, I couldn't find a solution for this. Now my question is, what type of bluetooth adapter should I buy and how do I integrate this in the carputer. And I'm not talking about physical connection, I think I will need some kind of software, app, that knows what to do with this bluetooth adapter.
So, in the end, I would need some help regarding the ignition start, just the hardware part of it, all the other automatic things (launch the app and play the song) can be made with tasker very easy. Also I would need some help with the bluetooth phone calls.
Hope I didn't miss any important thing and I will appreciate any help. Thanks.
yoiedi said:
Hello guys, I'm planning to build my first carputer. 2 years ago I have modified a tablet, Asus zenpad 8, very similar to Nexus 7 in my opinion. Now I want something more.
What I want:
Fully automated pc that works exactly like an android head unit but much better and more flexibility when it comes to external devices like an external DAC with optical output. Actually this is the main reason for not buying an android head unit, didn't find one that works very well with an external DAC. Some other things that I want from this carputer: the compatibility with steering wheel controls, backup camera, fm or even DAB radio, gps, phone calls( via bluetooth), 4G internet and so on. Many of those things are pretty simple to integrate, will talk about them later.
The components:
1. The pc - didn't think about it yet because there are loads of mini pc on the market for good prices. The only problem I'm thinking is the start up on ignition. First I wanted to go for a Remix mini pc but I don't know how could I make it start on ignition and after that automatically play the last song. If I would go for a normal PC, I found a smart PSU which has the possibility of ignition start and stop and puts the computer in sleep mode. That way I will avoid the waiting time for the boot, in fact the computer will be permanently turned on. The only problem I can think of, is the compatibility of this PSU with the android Remix OS. Is it possible?
I've tested the Remix OS and I like it, very quiq, easy to use in car with a touch screen, support all the external devices( wifi, 4g, fm and DAB, external DAC with optical output) and the launcher can be changed. I know I can opt for Windows OS and that way I will be sure that the PSU works but in my opinion windows is not so "mobile friendly", not so easy to use in car.
2. The screen: not so many to talk about, found on ebay some 9" tft touch screens, very good resolution, hdmi connectivity and USB for touch. The best thing with these screens is the AV2 input for the backup camera. The screen automatically switch to this input, has guidance lines, and this way I solved the problem with the camera. And also is quite cheap.
3. Steering wheel controls. Found on ebay the Joycon steering wheel adapter that is compatible with Android. I just have to make an initial configuration and that's it, nothing more, simply works through USB.
4. The other external devices: all of them can be found on ebay for good prices. The only thing that worries me is the bluetooth compatibility. I remember when I built that Asus zenpad tablet, I couldn't find a solution for this. Now my question is, what type of bluetooth adapter should I buy and how do I integrate this in the carputer. And I'm not talking about physical connection, I think I will need some kind of software, app, that knows what to do with this bluetooth adapter.
So, in the end, I would need some help regarding the ignition start, just the hardware part of it, all the other automatic things (launch the app and play the song) can be made with tasker very easy. Also I would need some help with the bluetooth phone calls.
Hope I didn't miss any important thing and I will appreciate any help. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you thought about using a rock 64 single board computer like a Raspberry Pi that Android is really supported something like that could work really well as it has gpio outputs for various functions USB inputs for audio dacs and DAB radio and can work with touch screens or even projectors for heads up.
The truth is I know nothing about raspberry pi, heard about them but nothing more. Can you please explain a bit more? Is it possible to make it automatically turn on/off on ignition? How? Apparently that's the hardest part of the job. I've read on the internet that Remix OS doesn't work very well with stand-by function and if I'll make it to shut down completely, I'm afraid that will take too long to boot back. I was thinking about Remix mini pc and a controller that simulates pressing of the on/off button simultaneously with the ignition but it has to be tested.
So, quickly searched on google about raspberry pi and banana pi possibilities, there are some power supplies for in car use, basically they simulate a shut down from the button with a delay. That looks very good, very easy to do and also very cheap. But, how fast can boot a raspberry or banana pi running Remix OS? Does anyone know?
yoiedi said:
The truth is I know nothing about raspberry pi, heard about them but nothing more. Can you please explain a bit more? Is it possible to make it automatically turn on/off on ignition? How? Apparently that's the hardest part of the job. I've read on the internet that Remix OS doesn't work very well with stand-by function and if I'll make it to shut down completely, I'm afraid that will take too long to boot back. I was thinking about Remix mini pc and a controller that simulates pressing of the on/off button simultaneously with the ignition but it has to be tested.
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Click to collapse
To make it turn off and on with the ignition, just plug it into a 12v line that is powered when ignition is on. Generally the 12v line to your head unit fits that criteria. If you want constant power to keep the device in standby mode, you can connect a relay to an a wire that is powered when the car is powered, then use the relay to short the pins of the standby button.
For boot time, you can achieve quite a bit of improvement by getting the fastest sdcard you can buy.
Thanks for advice. I've searched on youtube how android works with raspberry pi and in my opinion they don't do it very well, I mean it struggles even on youtube playing videos. So, I bought an ssd hdd, 32gb and made some tests on my pc. Found a version of android 7 special made for in car use and I'm quite happy with it until now. This android has a "special" feature, when the power button is pressed the pc shut down without displaying any confirmation message on screen. That means it will work perfectly with an intelligent power supply like m2-atx, m3-atx etc. In the next few days I'll get a new pc, micro atx mainboard so I'll begin the tests on that. Until now I've got a boot time around 30-40 seconds. Is not a bad time but I'll try to remove the unnecessary apps from startup and see what happens then. I'll post some pictures or even videos when I'll have good results. Any advice is welcome. Thanks.
yoiedi said:
Thanks for advice. I've searched on youtube how android works with raspberry pi and in my opinion they don't do it very well, I mean it struggles even on youtube playing videos. So, I bought an ssd hdd, 32gb and made some tests on my pc. Found a version of android 7 special made for in car use and I'm quite happy with it until now. This android has a "special" feature, when the power button is pressed the pc shut down without displaying any confirmation message on screen. That means it will work perfectly with an intelligent power supply like m2-atx, m3-atx etc. In the next few days I'll get a new pc, micro atx mainboard so I'll begin the tests on that. Until now I've got a boot time around 30-40 seconds. Is not a bad time but I'll try to remove the unnecessary apps from startup and see what happens then. I'll post some pictures or even videos when I'll have good results. Any advice is welcome. Thanks.
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Click to collapse
Check these out http://www.hardkernel.com/main/main.php
yoiedi said:
Thanks for advice. I've searched on youtube how android works with raspberry pi and in my opinion they don't do it very well, I mean it struggles even on youtube playing videos. So, I bought an ssd hdd, 32gb and made some tests on my pc. Found a version of android 7 special made for in car use and I'm quite happy with it until now. This android has a "special" feature, when the power button is pressed the pc shut down without displaying any confirmation message on screen. That means it will work perfectly with an intelligent power supply like m2-atx, m3-atx etc. In the next few days I'll get a new pc, micro atx mainboard so I'll begin the tests on that. Until now I've got a boot time around 30-40 seconds. Is not a bad time but I'll try to remove the unnecessary apps from startup and see what happens then. I'll post some pictures or even videos when I'll have good results. Any advice is welcome. Thanks.
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Why don't you get an android head unit?
gtxaspec said:
Why don't you get an android head unit?
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I think you didn't read, I couldn't find any that works with an external sound card(DAC). My audio system is quite expensive, made for sound quality, and of course I want the head unit to be as good as possible. An external sound card with optical output I think is the best you can get.
Google search "raspberry pi alternative" theres lots of these little gadgets now adays, raspberry pi 3B is one of the most popular ( and cheapest) but there are more out there that are more powerful & better hardware.. The ASUS Tinkerboard is becoming popular as well I think I may be getting one for a streaming machine.
I've already purchased the PC and ordered the PSU. The price for all those components(+ a 30gb ssd) was under 100£ so not very expensive. Why I went for a pc instead of a single board pc? I don't know, maybe because I have no previous experience with them. Yes is true that is way much bigger than a raspberry alternative and the power consumption as well but I don't mind, maybe in the future when I'll get bored again I will try one of those pc's.
So, I've tried to install the Android X86 64bit (there is one version on internet with a patch that removes the confirmation message when you want to shut it down) on this pc with no success, all I've got was a black screen or a continuous reboot. Found out that Android X86 64bit is not so friendly with AMD cpu's. Should've search for that before buying it. Anyway, tried the 32bit version so that one works very well but I didn't find any with that patch installed. How can I remove that confirmation message when the power button is pressed?
Thanks.
first tests, quite happy with it, still lot of work to do.
https://youtu.be/lNJmRjXG81A
Odroid C2 with android + kodi
I'm wondering if I could get a small tablet with, say, a 7-inch screen, that I could mount on my dash and will automatically connect, via Bluetooth, to my android phone and give me support for Android Auto, Google Maps, GPS and such? Is there such a thing?
I guess what I'm asking is if there's a way to automatically tether my phone's internet connection to another tablet automatically. That would be ideal.
Yes. Check out Headunit Reloaded, it will do pretty much exactly what you want, except you won't be able to use Bluetooth (bluetooth can't handle AA), so you will need to use WiFi instead. You would set up either your phone or the tablet as a WiFi hotspot. It's available on the play store, and there is plenty of help available on the forum. Good Luck!