A Linux-Based Dashboard Readout Worthy of the Jetsons

by Sam Dean - Jun. 09, 2009Comments (1)

LinuxDevices has a very interesting post up about a newly announced (PDF) telematics "instrument cluster prototype" from Yazaki North America. Aimed at automotive navigation systems from various manufacturers, and based on embedded Linux, it was created in collaboration with Freescale Semiconductor. It's intended to allow manufacturers and drivers multiple types of customized views of information, ranging from maps to data on driver and vehicle performance. It looks quite flexible, and racy too.

The Yazaki instrument cluster platform (see below for the different types of views it shows) is based on Freescale's MPC5121e system-on-chip processor. It has a thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD), and integrates a 400-MHz PowerPC, 2D/3D graphics core, with programmable audio functions.

Drivers can use the instrument cluster for views of maps, fuel gauage and speedometer readings, and more, with 3D graphics appearing. The design also supports integrated video input for showing camera-based information. This looks like the next generation of the currently stripped-down dashboard instrumention displays we see now, and could join some of the Moblin-based telematics applications headed for cars.