Device and system for aggregating networks and serving data from those networks to computers
Disclosed herein, in one example, is a device for aggregating networks and serving data from those networks to computers for integrating information from various systems in a vehicle, processing that information, and presenting it to consumers of information in a suitable format. The device for aggregating networks, in another example, is specific to a vehicle and serving data from those networks to computers. The device, in one example, generally includes three main pieces: a motherboard containing the electronics embodying the vehicle computer system; software which implements the instructions for the electronics enabling the functionality disclosed herein; and, a case to protect the motherboard and provide a method of mounting the devices.
1. A system for aggregating vehicle data and serving the data to a smart device, comprising:
a housing mounted in a vehicle, the housing having connectors configured to electrically connect an interior of the housing to an exterior of the housing;
a plurality of sensors in the vehicle, the sensors being operable to output data relating to sensed conditions of the vehicle, the sensors including a global positioning satellite (GPS) locating system, an accelerometer, and a video camera;
a motherboard mounted in the housing, the motherboard including a processor configured to execute application programs, the motherboard including a memory in which is stored an operating system for execution by the processor, the motherboard including input terminals connected to the connectors of the housing, the input terminals being configured to receive the data from the plurality of sensors,
the processor being operable to receive the sensor data and to normalize the sensor data including GPS data and accelerometer data and video data for display on a user interface, the processor being operable to apply a normalized text naming convention to the sensor data, the processor being operable to provide a web server and WebSockets that are operable to publish the normalized data of the sensors to a requesting web application;
the processor being thermally bonded to the housing to dissipate heat generated by the processor to the housing;
a Wi-Fi system mounted on the motherboard and configured to wirelessly connect the processor to a tablet computer or smartphone;
the memory including an installable service provider module that is configured for output from the motherboard to the tablet computer or smartphone outside of the housing, the installable service provider module including a web application configured for delivery to and execution on a tablet computer or smartphone, the web application being executable on the tablet computer or smartphone to request data from the web server and to display a user interface to the user of the tablet computer or smartphone after the web application is transferred from the memory and while the web application is operating on the tablet computer or smartphone, the web application being configured to receive the normalized data published by the web server and WebSockets including the GPS data and the accelerometer data and the video data and to display the normalized data as instrumentation for the vehicle on the tablet computer or smartphone without requiring installation of a user interface program for display of the normalized data from the processor as vehicle instrumentation on the tablet computer or smart phone prior to transfer of the installable service provider module and web application from the motherboard; and
a short term data store on the motherboard, the short term data store being configured to keep a copy of a last reported value for the sensor data, the last reported values stored in the short term data store being provided via the WebSockets to the tablet computer or smartphone, the short term data store receiving the sensor data for normalization by the processor and for output by the WebSockets.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the web application stored in the memory and configured for transfer to and execution in the tablet computer or smartphone includes an hypertext mark-up language application with cascading style sheets (CSS) and JavaScript.
3. The system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the hypertext mark-up language application with cascading style sheets and JavaScript that is stored in memory and configured for transfer to and execution in the tablet computer or smartphone is an HTML5 web application using cascading style sheets (CSS3) and JavaScript (JS).
4. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the Wi-Fi system is operable to connect to an authorized access point and to upload the sensor data through the access point.
5. A system for aggregating vehicle data and serving the data to a smart device, comprising:
a housing mounted in a vehicle, the housing having connectors configured to electrically connect an interior of the housing to an exterior of the housing, the housing being configured as a water-tight housing;
a plurality of sensors in the vehicle, the sensors being operable to output data relating to sensed conditions of the vehicle, the sensors including a global positioning satellite (GPS) locating system, an accelerometer, and a video camera;
a motherboard mounted in the housing, the motherboard including a processor configured to execute application programs, the motherboard including a memory in which is stored an operating system for execution by the processor, the motherboard including input terminals connected to the connectors of the housing and configured to receive the data from the plurality of sensors,
the processor being operable to receive the sensor data and to normalize the sensor data including GPS data and accelerometer data and video data for display on a user interface, the processor being operable to apply a normalized text naming convention to the sensor data, the processor being operable to provide a web server and WebSockets that are operable to publish the normalized data of the sensors to a requesting web application;
a Wi-Fi system mounted on the motherboard and configured to wirelessly connect the processor to a tablet computer or smartphone;
the memory including an installable service provider module that is configured for output from the motherboard to the tablet computer or smartphone outside of the housing, the installable service provider module including a web application configured for delivery to and installation on a tablet computer or smartphone, the web application being executable on the tablet computer or smartphone to request data from the web server and to display a user interface to the user of the tablet computer or smartphone after the web application is transferred from the memory and while the web application is operating on the tablet computer or smartphone, the web application being configured to receive the normalized data published by the web server and WebSockets including the GPS data and the accelerometer data and the video data and to display the normalized data as vehicle instrumentation on the tablet computer or smartphone without requiring installation of a user interface program for display of the normalized data from the processor as vehicle instrumentation on the tablet computer or smart phone prior to transfer of the installable service provider module and web application from the motherboard; and
a short term data store on the motherboard, the short term data store being configured to keep a copy of a last reported value for the sensor data, the last reported values stored in the short term data store being provided via the WebSockets to the tablet computer or smartphone, the short term data store receiving the sensor data for normalization by the processor and for output by the WebSockets.
6. A system for aggregating vehicle data and serving the data to a smart device, comprising:
a housing mounted in a vehicle, the housing having connectors configured to electrically connect an interior of the housing to an exterior of the housing, the housing being configured as a water-tight housing;
a plurality of sensors in the vehicle, the sensors being operable to output data relating to sensed conditions of the vehicle, the sensors including a video camera;
a motherboard mounted in the housing, the motherboard including a processor configured to execute application programs, the motherboard including a memory in which is stored an operating system for execution by the processor, the motherboard including input terminals connected to the connectors of the housing and configured to receive the data from the plurality of sensors,
the processor being operable to receive the sensor data and to normalize the sensor data including video data for display on a user interface, the processor being operable to apply a normalized text naming convention to the sensor data, the processor being operable to provide a web server and WebSockets that are operable to publish the normalized data of the sensors to a requesting web application;
a communication system mounted on the motherboard and configured to connect the processor to a tablet computer or smartphone; and
the memory including an installable service provider module that is configured for output from the motherboard to the tablet computer or smartphone outside of the housing, the installable service provider module including a web application configured for delivery to and installation on a tablet computer or smartphone, the web application being executable on the tablet computer or smartphone to request data from the web server and to display a user interface to the user of the tablet computer or smartphone after the web application is transferred from the memory and while the web application is operating on the tablet computer or smartphone, the web application being configured to receive the normalized data published by the web server and WebSockets including the video data and to display the normalized data on the tablet computer or smartphone as instrumentation for the vehicle without requiring installation of a user interface program for the display of the normalized data from the processor as vehicle instrumentation on the tablet computer or smart phone prior to transfer of the installable service provider module and web application from the motherboard.