Raspberry Pi Car Dashboard Shows Real-Time Auto Stats

If you're an avid auto-lover, you know how important it is to know what's going on under the hood. That's exactly what this project created by maker Paul Slocum is for. It uses a Raspberry Pi to output real-time stat information on a custom display but with a little retro flare in the UI design that fits the look and feel of his 1997 Honda.

The setup is designed to interface with the Honda's OBD2 port wirelessly. Through it, he can monitor data from the OBD2 adapter or even play music.

The device is designed to automatically turn on when the car is started. It then searches for and connects to the Bluetooth LE OBD2 adapter after booting. The interface loads onto a 3.5-inch Waveshare IPS screen connected via GPIO.

The scripts it uses were written by Slocum in C++ who also used SDL to handle the retro UI graphics and touch screen input.

Music is played by sourcing tracks from a locally connected USB drive. To keep things nostalgic, the UI refers to individual folders as a "Disc." Slocum plans to add Bluetooth audio support but relies on analog audio output from the Pi at the moment.

If you want to create this project yourself, follow Slocum on GitHub. He plans to upload the code as an open-source tool for anyone to use in the future. In the meantime, you check out the full post on Reddit. Be sure to explore our list of Best Raspberry Pi Projects for more cool creations on our favorite SBC.