final report project title: dial’a’whip

EEL 4924 Electrical Engineering Design

(Senior Design)

Final Report

25 April 2012

Project Title: Dial’A’Whip

Team Members:

Name: Chris Calvo

Name: Daniel De Leo

Project Abstract:

Dial’A’Whip consists of a compact module that connects to a car’s electrical system to allow partial

system control and relay status information about the car to the owner. The module will allow the owner

to use a cellphone to remotely perform several functions on the car such as: Lock/Unlock doors, open

trunk, read inside temperature, receive GPRS location, sense internal lights and external headlights,

receive door status, sense motion inside car, and start the car. The project presents the technical

challenge of interfacing a microcontroller with both a GSM modem and a car’s BCM (Body Control

Module). Once the project has been completed, it is expected that Dial’A’Whip will present users with

the ability to partially control their car and check on the status of their car using SMS text messages on

any cellphone.

University of Florida EEL 4924—Spring 2012 25-Apr-12 Electrical & Computer Engineering

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Contents Introduction: .......................................................................................................................................... 3

Project Features: .................................................................................................................................... 4

Concept/Technology Selection: .............................................................................................................. 5

Visual of Functionality: ......................................................................................................................... 6

Installation: ............................................................................................................................................ 7

System Block Diagram: ......................................................................................................................... 8

Software Flowchart: ............................................................................................................................... 9

Android Application: ........................................................................................................................... 10

Distribution of Labor: .......................................................................................................................... 11

Project Costs: ....................................................................................................................................... 11

Grant Chart: ......................................................................................................................................... 12

Figures

Figure 1 – Dial’A’Whip Module ............................................................................................................ 3 Figure 2 – Android App ......................................................................................................................... 4

Figure 3 – Basic SMS Texting ............................................................................................................... 4 Figure 4 – Basic View of Software Function .......................................................................................... 6

Figure 5 - Module Connectors ................................................................................................................ 7 Figure 6 - Dial’A’Whip System Block Diagram ..................................................................................... 8

Figure 7 - Software Flowchart ................................................................................................................ 9 Figure 8 – Android App Home Screen ................................................................................................. 10

Figure 9 – Android App Extra Features Screen .................................................................................... 10 Figure 10 – Android GPS Car Locator Screen ...................................................................................... 10

Figure 11 – Grant Chart ....................................................................................................................... 12


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Introduction: Dial ‘A’ Whip is an automotive accessory that gives the user the ability to control some vehicle

characteristics and pull status readings about their vehicle from anywhere in the world (as long as the car

and user lie in a GSM cell phone coverage area). A similar system has been developed by Viper Inc.

they call the system “SmartStart” and it gives the user similar features to our system however the

SmartStart system requires users to pay monthly fees to Viper in order to keep the system working.

These fees arise from a monthly fee to keep each car connected on a GSM network and also for the user

to access the Viper web server to control the vehicle. Dial ‘A’ Whip in essence will provide all of the

same features as SmartStart but in a much more open source based system allowing the user control

capabilities via any phone using SMS (See Figure 2), which does not force users to have a smart phone.

Dial ‘A’ Whip also allows users to retain their own GSM SIM card to ensure cell phone coverage for the

system.

Figure 1 – Dial’A’Whip Module


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Project Features: • Plug and Play

– Module plugs directly into OBDII port

• Internal Battery Back-up

– Uninterruptable power supply to system

• Internal Temperature Sensing

– Module able to SMS text the user the temperature inside the car.

• Internal Motion Sensor

– Module alerts the user via SMS text whenever motion is sensed inside the car

• Interface With Installed BCM/Remote Starter

– Module connects to BCM through CAN BUS to allow the following features:

• Car Status

• Lock/Unlock Door Control

• Trunk Opening Control

• Remote Engine Start

• SMS Security

– 4 digit passcode required for all text commands

• Android Mobile Application (See Figure 1)

– Ability to interact with the car module using a graphical interface rather than simple SMS

texts. The application presents the user with buttons which send the corresponding

commands automatically via SMS, saving the user the extra effort of composing texts.

Figure 2 – Android App

Figure 3 – Basic SMS Texting


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Concept/Technology Selection:

Dial’A’Whip is broken down into three main parts that together fulfill the objectives of providing users

control of their car from anywhere in the world:

1. The communication backbone to the Dial’A’Whip system in order to provide nearly worldwide

coverage for our system we opted to use the widely used GSM technology (cell phone

architecture). By using GSM the Dial’A’Whip system is always accessible to the user as long as

the user is within range of a cell phone tower and the system is as well.

Another benefit of using GSM versus other cell phone architectures is the fact that with GSM

SIM cards are required in order to access the network this gives consumers of the Dial’A’Whip

system the ability to choose any GSM carrier/provider that they wish. Other possibilities that

were examined included WIFI and Bluetooth however both of these technologies did not provide

the coverage we were looking for to provide a nearly worldwide coverage for the Dial’A’Whip

system.

2. The processing power and overall control center for the Dial’A’Whip system will be placed on

the shoulders of an Atmel Atmega 2560 microcontroller. This microcontroller provides us with

access to UART connections that are full duplex (can send and receive simultaneously), which is

essential to our application considering communication with the GSM modem is done

completely through UART.

Another feature of this microcontroller is its large flash memory which totals up to 256 KB this

allows for plenty of room to design a robust system all on one chip without the need for external

memory interface. Lastly, because this microcontroller is widely used in industry there is access

to a lot of example code and literature that will all help to realize the Dial’A’Whip control center.

A few other microcontrollers were examined (PIC, TI, and other Atmel chips) however they all

lacked one or all of the above key features that the Atmega 2560 offered.


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3. Interfacing with the vehicle is done via the CAN BUS interface which is standard on all cars

manufactured in 2006 and later. The Dial’A’Whip system has an on-board MCP2515 and

MCP2551 which are the controller and transceiver in charge of CAN BUS communication. It is

this CAN BUS communication which allows the Dial’A’Whip system to be completely plug and

play via the OBDII port on any car.

Visual of Functionality:

Figure 4 – Basic View of Software Function


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Installation:

Dial’A’Whip has two simple connections that are used to install the module on the car. Two cables are

used. One cable has a DB-9 serial connector on one side which plugs into the back of the system to the

DB-9 port (shown below). The other side of the cable has an OBDII connector which plugs into the

car’s OBDII port below the steering wheel. The second cable has the motion sensor on one end and a

USB connector on the other. The USB connector plugs into the side USB port of the Dial’A’Whip

system (shown below). Those two cables are all that are necessary to install the system. When the power

switch is turned on, the system boots and within seconds is ready to receive texts.

Figure 5 - Module Connectors


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System Block Diagram:

Figure 6 - Dial’A’Whip System Block Diagram


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Software Flowchart:

Figure 7 - Software Flowchart


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Android Application:

The android application automates all the SMS text message commands that control the Dial’A’Whip

system. This saves the user the hassle of having to manually compose all the text messages on their

phone. The android application also provides a visual representation of the GPS coordinates that are sent

back by the Dial’A’Whip system. The coordinates are translated into a google maps coordinate and is

shown visually as a red car (Figure 10).

Button Functions:

Lock All Doors

Unlock All Doors

Unlock Driver Door

Unlock Passenger Door

Trunk Open

Start Car

GPS Car Location

Car Temperature

Arm Motion Sensor

Car Doors Status

Change Security PassCode

Figure 8 – Android App Home Screen

Figure 9 – Android App Extra Features

Screen

Figure 10 – Android GPS Car Locator

Screen


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Distribution of Labor: The following is a breakdown of each team member's projected labor by approximate percentage.

Christopher Calvo Daniel De Leo

Preliminary Research 50% 50%

Design Phase 50% 50%

Board Construction 90% 10%

Interfacing With Car 80% 20%

C code for Atmel 20% 80%

Test and Debug 50% 50%

Physical Assembly 50% 50%

Android App Development 10% 90%

Project Costs: GSM Module $60.00

GPS Module $60.00

Temperature Sensor $1.50

Motion Sensor $10.00

Connectors/Cables $20.00

PCB $33.00

ATMEGA2560 w/ Oscillators $22.00

Capacitors, Resistors, Inductors $8.00

ICs $12.50

Total $227


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Grant Chart:

Figure 11 – Grant Chart

final report project title: dial’a’whip

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