[D7YAB]

Hello

I want to gauge the peoples opinion on an Android Automotive OS implementation for us F series owners.

A bit of background:
I own an F33 with ID4 NBT Pro Nav. The system is as we all know outdated and lacking Carplay. Unfortunately there is no ID6 upgrade option without retrofitting a full NBT Evo unit and even then retaining Connected Drive with same VIN is a headache of a job (Just not feasible)

I have used an MMI Unit with stock screen, the experience was great until I started messing around with update files and ultimately bricked the unit.

On the hunt for a replacement, I purchased an android Unit with QLED display
Linked here

This unit was fast, screen quality was amazing however drawbacks were the CarPlay is a little slower than MMI unit, the iDrive controller does not integrate well with system and any apps such as YouTube, Netflix and Spotify etc had way too small of a UI to use due to DPI and resolution of the unit leading to constantly reaching to touch the screen which is a little unnatural.

What I want to do?
I want to develop a solution where I can use Android Automotive OS as a replacement for the stock system. AAOS is designed for cars and has drive friendly UI. It would be nice to somehow switch screens to say a streaming device such as Chromecast with google tv and be able to control via iDrive controller.

Device to run AAOS?
I've had a look and found RPi5 would probably be best to develop this system on as it has a large community behind it.

Points to consider
An AAOS build for the RPi5 with Google Apps services to allow access to play store and use apps like google maps etc

Allow switching between original iDrive and AAOS. I understand the NBT unit uses LVDS cable to transmit display signal with FPD Link 2 protocol. There are 2 HDMI outputs and 2 CSI/DSI I/O on the RPi5. I was thinking to use FPD Link deserialiser and feed this into a CSI port. AAOS can use this feed natively as CSI is generally used for cameras. Will need build a custom app for this.

iDrive controller support. There is an Arduino library which can interface the drive controller for AAOS. AAOS has support for Rotary controllers so will need to modify source code to map the controller and also prevent input to NBT when in android mode.Link to github

GPS support. RPi5 does not have a GPS antenna so I need to figure out which GPS hat to use and how to add driver support this within AAOS

[NealfromNZ]

Cool project. I used a RPi as head for an e46 system integrated into Factory Nav screen.

Is USB GPS RPi module an option rather than a hat board ?

On my build I had four usb inputs for Bluray / Hifimediy USB audio dac / 256gig thumb drive / 4g modem but end up installing a powered USB hub. Used an andrino relay of the gpio for power on.

Could be a way to add more accessories.