Chevy Volt Enhanced with Raspberry Pi and Automatic Cameras

While slated to soon go out of production, the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid certainly has its fans. Included in these ranks is Jared Stafford, who despite calling it “by far, the best car I’ve ever owned,” had a few issues with it, mostly related to how the controls are laid out. Additionally, he wasn’t crazy about spending $20 per month for OnStar, likely more than he spends on gas in a year!

In order to fix these issues, he of course installed a Raspberry Pi, along with a supplemental display screen and physical controller. For his auxiliary setup, Stafford created a perfboard assembly that sits on the center console with buttons and a small joystick. This allows him to modify climate control and entertainment settings, view car data, and other operations accessed on the OBD-II port via a Macchina M2 reader.

As shown in the demonstration video below, he can also control or even program things on the fly using a wired keyboard, or log in and do the same thing remotely over an inexpensive Hologram cellular data connection. Besides enhanced controls, the car features both front and read-facing cameras. While not amazing in itself, he’s automated these systems so that they upload data to his home WiFi network automatically when parked, then power off on their own!