My Role: Electrical Engineer / Team Member
Institution: Iowa State University (ECpE Department)
Project Status: Work in Progress (Expected Completion: May 2027)
Commercial aftermarket car head units are typically closed-source, locked to specific vehicle ecosystems, and notoriously difficult to repair, customize, or integrate with specialized hardware. To solve this, Team sdmay27-33 is designing and building an open-source, modular car head unit engineered to serve as a direct replacement for factory radios in standard double-DIN slots (targeting pre-2020 passenger and commercial vehicles).
The platform gives drivers, fleet operators, and hobbyists complete ownership over their in-vehicle hardware and software stack, providing a fully customizable, repairable, and extensible alternative to off-the-shelf commercial units.
Modular Ecosystem: Designed with swappable hardware and software modules to easily adapt to varying use cases—ranging from everyday commuter vehicles to heavy commercial trucks.
Custom Power & Hardware Integration: Developing custom printed circuit boards (PCBs) to handle robust in-vehicle power requirements, featuring dedicated input protection, DC/DC power conversion, and signal routing.
Standardized Form Factor: Built to fit standard double-DIN dash configurations, enabling seamless physical integration without custom dash modifications.
Open-Source Freedom: Releasing complete hardware schematics, PCB designs, and software repositories to foster community development, transparency, and long-term repairability.
Electrical Engineering Focus: Designing and integrating custom PCBs, managing power distribution, implementing reliable automotive input protection, and handling board-level signal routing.
Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Working alongside software and computer engineers to coordinate embedded hardware control, system responsiveness, and user interface integration.