Database Develop

Android Auto with Android head unit

hey guys,
i just found out android head units exist and it makes me excited. that being said i have a subaru legacy 2015 and all ive wanted was the ease of use to have the address pulled up on my phone and have my head unit automagically have it and give be turn by turn directions on its screen. so i would like android auto because it seems to be the simplest to use and most intuitive because i use google music as my main source of music and google maps as my main maps. is this a option of the android headunits the reviews seem to focus on the android os not how it interacts with my phone, the last thing i want to do while driving is type in an address when someone text me i want to be able to hit a link and have it pop up on my headunit. you know what i mean?
anyways that's the main thing but i would like "ok google" being sent to my phone and displaying on the screen would be a big plus as well as backup cam support and dvr function and if magically possible retain control over my cars functions like changing my key locking functions would be nice but only if possible ive come to terms with losing that functionality.
car: subaru legacy limited 2015
phone: pixel xl

E-bike with Android Auto - Google Play Store review

Hi,
I'm working for one company that makes eletric bikes. Currently we have an app which is used as extended dashboard for the bike and to control your bike when you are not using it. Now we are thinking of extending some of our functionality and one of our feature request would be to use Android Auto within our bike infotainment. My question is whether something like this is 'legit' (Can such an application be approved by Google) ?
Or to be more precise, here is user story request: "As a company that manufacturers e-bike solutions, we want to build bike infotainment that supports Android Auto, so that riders can run all apps that have Android Auto support on e-bike infotainment."
Thank you

If your e-bike application does not have a hidden collection of user information and sending packages to third parties, then you will be moderated by Google in the Play Market. Read about such applications on the thematic sites that are dedicated to e-bikes.

Serious Debate Question: Run OpenAuto Pro on RasPi or LineageOS on RasPi as Car Head unit?

So I am stuck in a dilemma. Ive switched roms so many times I still don't know which way to go.
I want to us Android Auto. But I want to natively run my Uber/Lyft driver apps on the main screen. I dont want to involve the use of a typical phone or tablet. I have 2 Raspberry Pi's. An 8gb and a 2gb. I have a Sim7600G-H cell/gps module. I have 2 mcp2515 can modules on the spi bus.
I have 10" screen and a 4" screen.
Ah, but it gets better. I also have a number of arduinos in the equation too. These will control lights and servos. All custom programmed in python to operate over i2c.
I think im sticking with the Open Auto Pro method as my main screen. But i'm not sure. I love the car launcher apps that are available on android so they would look cool as the main screen too. Not sold on Kodi as a launcher option.
So I open the floor to debate. Android as a main app and run linux as secondary? Or run Open Auto Pro (linux) as main and android (LineageOS or OmniRom) as secondary?

same question in my head because of another reason:
I have a carplay-dongle and bought Pi4 to use it. I can use it with LineageOS or openauto pro. I tried with an android-tablet but had some problems and decided to do it with raspberry.
Both of them has similar functions:
Integrated music player
Display OBD-II data
Plugin CarPlay Autobox for OpenAuto Pro
Navigation with Android Auto™ head unit emulation
Multi-langugage support
Benefits of LineageOS:
is free and you will get free updates all time.
Your android-apk will also updated all time.
Android developed and optimised for light hardware. A PI4 4GB will a really good hardware-base.
Openauto Pro:
It is developed as a car head unit. User interface, community, supports... All of them for same purpose. If you have a specific problem like wheel-controller or power on-off etc... It is easier than only-android. You can run not only apk's, also linux packages.
You get free-updates only one year. You have to buy Carplay-Plugin separately. Maybe this plugin will not works next year with IOS-16. I don't know, if I get a free update or not.
Other issue of it cpu-memory usage: Debian-OS is developed for a Desktop-PC and a Pi4-4GB is a thin hardware for this os.
My Wish-List:
DAB-Radio support
TSR (Traffic sign recognisition)
Lane Assistant
Both system does not have a built in solution for FM-Radio, TSR or Lane Assistent. But you can use Android-Apps on both systems.
I will try first with LineageOS and maybe some android-apps too. If it is not enought, I can buy Openauto and use bought apps on it too.

Android Auto alternative

Hi,
I'm disappointed with AA. I think there is some space for an open source alternative to this system which is so closed.
Moreover the end of life of the standalone version makes me feel that Google doesn't care much about their customer experience.
I tried the Google Assistant driving mode and it's... a disaster for now.
I think it would be easy to create a great AA like launcher. But to make it succesfull there must be a community and an ecosystem around that. Apps are important even in automotive context.
Typically Waze is a key app that many drivers want.
At this time I'm wondering what is the best approach to start this kind of project. I see few show stoppers and I'm interested to get some thought from you about that.
1/ Head unit integration : long time ago I worked on the reverse engineering of the AA protocol. I discovered that the protocol is using SSL certificates. Head units holds a public key and mobile use a private key provided by Google Play Services. The problem is that these certificates have very short lifetime (about 6 months) and if I remember fine the root cerificate will expire in 2030 or something. I don't think that head unit s check the expiration date anyway (because many of them don't have system time). But for sure you need a Google private key in order to initiate communication with a head unit. The key could be captured decompiling code few years ago, don't know if it's still as simple as that.
If head unit really don't check the expiration date then it could be possible to replace the whole AA stack with an independent one.
But even if this work I'm not sure it's possible to disable the native AA protocol and take control of the USB port without rooting.
2/ Apps integration. There are 2 categories of Automotive apps : media apps and navigation apps. I think there are also a category for messaging apps.
Navigations apps are apps that provides an automotive friendly display. Waze does this for example.
Media apps are easy to integrate becaase they rely on the legacy mediabrowser APIs.
Integrating the navigation apps is tough. Because these apps are exposing a special AA service that only privileged apps can invoke (by default).
However apps dev can also allow a third party app to connect their dispkay service. This won't ever happen except if the car launcher become mainstream.
Good point is that would not require any change in implementations : it's just an access right problem.
I have seen a lot of car launchers in Play store. They all display the apps on native mode which is not what you want while driving.
Any comments to this ?

I would also like to see an alternative way...but unfortunately I did not find anything yet.
I'm also not happy with everything on Android Auto.
For example:
- I have apps (e.g. navigation) that are not compatible with Android Auto
- I can't accept Whatsapp calls on Android Auto
- The navgation of media apps is not the best way (if you want to change the playlists, there are way too many inputs necessary)
- I can't turn off Google Maps (GPS) to preserve battery and reduce heat on the phone
- I need internet (I live in a rural area...therefore sometimes I don't have internet and then in a lot of times, Android Auto just crashes...)
- I don't like Google's update policy (it's just good luck if a new version of Android Auto works stable). I want to have a working version and leave it on the phone.

From a user standpoint I definately would like to see an AA alternative. I don't need to watch videos or anything like that but there are a few necessary apps for me that AA doesn't allow.

SOFO888 said:
- I don't like Google's update policy (it's just good luck if a new version of Android Auto works stable). I want to have a working version and leave it on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can achieve that by disabling Android Auto automatic updates on Play Store app.

CaioTheBrain said:
You can achieve that by disabling Android Auto automatic updates on Play Store app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, unfortunately not. Every Google app has an expiration date, also Android Auto. This expiration date then forces you to update your app. Otherwise it will not start.

There are a few Android dongles that trick the car's headunit into thinking it is connected via Android Auto. However, most of the devices are CarPlay AI units that trick the headunit into thinking is is connected to a CarPlay device and then display the Android system through the headunit. But they are all buggy.
Perhaps something can be learned from how they do that. An app that mimics Android Auto but allows full user control would be great.

I am by no means an expert but I want to help do this! I liked using rooted devices for AA and having AA tweaker but I always felt like it was just the start of something not a finished product so I'm definitely down with this. What I feel like would be the simplest approach would be making an Android auto app that (it communicates with your phone and doesn't need data) runs on a cheap tablet that you put on your dash or wherever in the car and from there you have full control over the app and device. Just my thoughts

Did someone tried sreen2auto? Its mirroring your phone to your android auto. Search it on XDA forum.

drnightshadow said:
Did someone tried sreen2auto? Its mirroring your phone to your android auto. Search it on XDA forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to use Screen2Auto but it required too much upkeep every time Google made changes to Android Auto. The last time it broke I couldn't get it working again.

Develop Android Car Box using Android Auto

Hi all,
I am a newbee, I am looking to develop firmware for Android Car Box, however I have no knowledge about this. I have experience developing fw for Android TV, but not with Android Car Box. I have tried to find out but there is not much information about it yet. I have a few questions that I hope someone can help answer with:
- Is the Android used for Android Car Box products a specific type of Android (such as Android TV, Android Mobile, Android Tablet,...). Or is it simply Android + Android Auto (service or app).
- Is there any difference between using Android Car Box and Android mobile (both use Android Auto to connect to DHU in the car)? If not different then Android Car Box is also using fw which is Android mobile right?
- About hardware, is there anything to pay attention to to build Android Car Box? (like CPU, RAM, ROM, ....)
Thanks everyone!