What Is AutoPi And What Does It Do?

Update!

We've recently updated our content on this topic!

Read more about our new and updated articles about The AutoPi Devices and The AutoPi Cloud.

What is AutoPi and What Does It Do?

AutoPi is an Internet of Things (IoT) device that communicates directly with vehicles and performs automated functions.

Due to AutoPi’s IoT-connectivity, a car’s many software-related components can be updated “over the air” (OTA).

For example, if a radio stops working, it is more likely to require an OTA software update rather than an actual trip to the manufacturer.

It is the same with your car, AutoPi makes it more intelligent. AutoPi allows you to develop features that are not included by the manufacturer and enhance vehicle performance through software only.

All features such as controlling windows, doors, radio, AC or engine, and recorded data including vehicle diagnostics, location tracking, or battery state are made remotely available and updatable anytime and anywhere from your computer, tablet, mobile, or smartwatch.

All this is provided from an open cloud platform for the device.

AutoPi is a solution based on Raspberry Pi technology, but it also uses several other high-tech tools that grant users to access valuable functions. A technology that creates opportunities.

The AutoPi TMU device plugs into the OBD-II port of your car. OBD stands for on-board diagnostics and it is the port your mechanic plugs into when diagnosing a problem with your car or clearing an error message (DTC).

OBD-II port is standard available in all cars manufactured after 1996 when it was made mandatory by law. It became mandatory in the European Union after 2001 for gasoline vehicles and in 2004 for diesel vehicles.

Once connected, the AutoPi TMU device will automatically start working. It has 3G/4G connectivity, so it can connect to the internet, and you can connect to it wirelessly.

AutoPi also features:

• A Speaker

• Two USB Ports

• An HDMI Port

• 4G LTE

• An internal accelerometer to give you G-force information

• GPS functionality for tracking your car's real-time position

Your AutoPi TMU CM4 connects to an online cloud management platform that you can log into from any device – your phone or tablet through the torque pro app, and/or computer, etc. This gives you access to AutoPi’s settings, as well as any data that it’s capturing. This dashboard has customizable widgets, so you can set the display to only show what you need.

If you want to learn more about AutoPi and it's devices, check out this blogpost.

What Can AutoPi Do?

AutoPi can record CAN messages. Controller Area Network (CAN bus) is just like the nervous system in the human body.

It is enabling communication with components in all parts of the vehicle. For example, when you are rolling down your window, a message is sent.

AutoPi can record this message and play it back to your car which will result in you being able to remotely roll down your window via AutoPi’s cloud.

AutoPi can send custom messages to your car. In some cases, cars are not autonomously sending CAN bus messages out in the air. You can plug in custom messages (or codes) via AutoPi’s platform to ask for data from your vehicle, an example is if you would like to know the charging state of the battery or the driving speed.

AutoPi can gain data through antenna or network capabilities and send that to your AutoPi’s cloud, so you can read environmental data of your vehicle such as GPS locations.

With AutoPi, you can also set triggers within your dashboard, which is where the functionality of the AutoPi starts to come through.

Triggers are based on the well-known principle of “If This, Then That”, i.e., in the event of something happening, you should take a particular action. For example, if you’re a parent, you could set triggers that activate whenever one of your children is driving your car (the AutoPi can be extended to automatically detect who’s driving).

An example of such a trigger would be programming AutoPi to send you an SMS message every time your car goes faster than a speed that you’ve pre-set.

Triggers are not just about getting notifications, however, as they can also perform critical actions in the car’s function.

For example, you can set a trigger that activates when the AutoPi detects a situation where you brake heavily. This trigger could activate an action that automatically turns on your hazard lights to warn tailing drivers that you have stopped abruptly, helping to prevent anyone from rear-ending you.

If you want to know more about the functions of the AutoPi devices and the new devices, learn more here.

A New Way of Thinking

The AutoPi represents a user-centric approach for collaborating and co-creating connected car solutions since it is an easily extendable open-source platform.

The AutoPi platform is available to developers and the AutoPi community to create new extensions, features, addons, or third-party implementations such as cameras, sensors, or a touchscreen.

What can I use AutoPi TMU and Cloud for?

Some of the practical uses of AutoPi have already been mentioned, but here are some extra tricks you can build with the AutoPi.

AutoPi can be used to gain these features:

1. Monitor and track vehicle performance and diagnostics.

2. Real-time GPS tracking and location data.

3. Control and customize vehicle functions remotely through the AutoPi Cloud platform.

4. Collect and analyze driving data for improved fuel efficiency.

5. Integrate with third-party applications and services.

6. Over-the-air software updates for the TMU device.

7. Create and manage custom vehicle profiles for multiple vehicles.

8. Access to a wide range of pre-configured car modules.

9. Receive alerts and notifications based on defined rules and conditions.

10. Etc.

The above-mentioned examples are just some of the incredible things you can create, but the real potential of AutoPi is with the true innovators.

Are you ready to try the future of driving experience in your car? Join the discussion and get in touch with us.