her(me)s: The OBD Free Project

problem

As cars become increasingly complex due to sophisticated electronic systems and safety features, traditional icon-based dashboard indicators have become obsolete. In the event of a vehicle warning or malfunction, these cryptic icons do little to inform the driver of the true problem at hand.

As such, the average consumer is ill-equipped to cost-effectively service their vehicle either independently, or with the assistance of a trained professional. This information gap is a leading source of inappropriate/overpriced vehicle service.

• A Wikipedia-like database hosts DTC descriptions and solutions as well as registered user data

• DTC descriptions and solutions are provided by an incentivized user community

• Information is community-regulated via monitored discussions and rating systems

solution

The hermes system is the synergy of the “vehicle,” “iPhone,” and “website” components detailed to the left.

Once a wireless connection between the iPhone and the vehicle is established, data flows through the system as follows:

1. The vehicle broadcasts DTCs and performance metrics via the onboard peripheral (Figure 1)

2. The iPhone receives the DTCs and queries the hermes website for the specific code

3. The website returns the appropriate description and solution

hermes helps customers filter the masses of data that are available in the automotive service industry. Furthermore, with real-time performance metrics, consumers can consciously drive their vehicles more cost effectively. Hence, customers are armed with the power of information in the event that they take their car to a vehicle specialist for servicing.

website

• Domain: www.hermes.evanlhyde.com

• Development Platform: Mediawiki

• Database Structure: MySQL

hermes.evanlhyde.com is the portal through which customers will view, contribute to, and critique the ever-growing database of DTCs and solultions. With a familiar Wikipedia-like interface, the open-source design of this platform allows incentivized users to populate the database on an ongoing basis. As new codes are discovered from daily use, users can populate the hermes database.

Additionally, personal vehicle and driver information is stored on the server. This data collection turns the hermes system into a marketable mobile platform discussed in (future).

iPhone

P0001

P0002

vehicle

• 2009 Mercedes-Benz C300

• OBDII Protocol: ISO 15765-4 CAN

• Onboard Peripheral: ScanTool.net OBLINK (Figure 1)

The test vehicle subscribes to the latest standard of OBDII protocol: ISO 15765-4 CAN. As of 2008, all vehicles sold in the United states are required to use this protocol.

The vehicle also continuously broadcasts real-time performance metrics that are cached as usage statistics by the mobile application.

All data is communicated over Wi-Fi to the iPhone application.

• Alpha-numeric DTCs are triggered when the “Check Engine” light is illuminated

authorsEvan L. Hyde (CIS ‘11)

Michael Ottavi-Brannon (ESE ‘11)

advisorOleg Sokolsky (CIS)

special thanksDr. Ken Laker, Dr. Peter Scott, Dr. Raymond

Watrous

• DTCs and performance metrics are pushed via Wi-Fi from the wireless OBDII peripheral (Figure 1) to the iPhone

• The onboard peripheral is connected to the vehicle via an OBDII to DB9F serial cable (Figure 2)

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

abstract

As of 2008, the United States has over 255 million registered vehicles traveling over its roadways. Although automobiles provide an effective means of moving people and possessions from one location to another, they are complicated, error-prone systems. In order to increase the safety and lifespan of cars, auto manufactures have equipped them with error lights and warning messages to inform the operator of system malfunctions. However, these measures are of very little use to the average driver, providing little information about the source of the error and even less information about cost-effective solutions.  To improve the car ownership experience, individuals should be able to cheaply diagnose and resolve basic vehicle problems without having to default to a vehicle specialist. hermes: The OBD Free Project connects vehicle owners with crowd-sourced solutions to common vehicle problems.

An iPhone application is wirelessly connected to an onboard peripheral. This peripheral is then connected to a vehicle’s Onboard Diagnostics II (OBDII) systems and receives real-time diagnostic information about the car’s overall health and well-being. In the event that there is a vehicle malfunction and the “Check Engine” light is illuminated, the application will query a Wikipedia-like database and provide the driver with a description and crowd-sourced solution to the problem. In addition, the system also communicates common vehicle performance metrics such as instantaneous / average MPG, instantaneous / average RPM, and remaining fuel levels. By providing higher levels of consumer access to vehicle health and well-being, customers will be able to make more cost effective decisions regarding vehicle maintenance and claim more ownership of their vehicles.

future

Not only does the hermes system empower the everyday consumer with invaluable information about their vehicle’s performance and well-being, it also creates an incredibly-scalable mobile platform for advertisers and consumers alike. Because the application automatically pulls and stores basic vehicle information such as year, make and model, the foundations of a personalized advertising platform are set into place.

The open architecture of this system allows future implementations of the project to expand well beyond the realm of automotive maintenance and into previously untapped markets of mobile advertising and social networking. Consumers and marketers will simultaneously capitalize upon the advantages of personalized information and shared location in the ever-growing hermes community.

• The ‘home’ tab displays the averages of common performance metrics pulled from the vehicle while the ‘real time’ view displays similar readings instantaneously (Figure 3). These include miles per gallon, speed and remaining fuel levels.

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

• Consumer-friendly descriptions / solutions to triggered DTCs are pulled from the website and displayed on the ‘error codes’ page (Figure 4). These solutions are submitted by users and community-regulated