First of all thank you very much for making this vision reality. These ideas make the world a better place ... Respect!
Since 2014 I'm hooked on everything EV. We own a Leaf, VW e-Up and a Twizy (we live in Germany) and hopefully in the near future an Aptera :-)
Over the years I did a few open source software projects related to EV's. All as a hobby and mostly related to privacy while connected.
My latest project was bringing OVMS (open vehicle monitoring system) to the VW e-Up. OVMS is an open hardware device for connecting CAN bus information via your own SIM card to a server (managed or your own) to the open source Android or IOS OVMS app.
Within the app you can see loads of information related to the car like SOC, status of the doors, speed, but you can also remotely connect to the car and i.e. turn on climate control or unlock the doors.
Everything on open hardware and with open source software.
OVMS was originally developed by Tesla Roadster enthusiasts, but now a wide range of EV's are supported. The past 12 months I developed the vehicle module for the VW e-Up (T26A) and it is now up and running including climate control :-)
Sorry for the longer introduction, but I was thinking that OVMS could be a candidate for setting up the connectivity to the car, the "open" and "privacy preserving" way. So therefor I started this thread and I'm curious to hear if OVMS could be an idea for the Aptera.
You can find more information about OVMS and my VW e-Up implementation here:
https://docs.openvehicles.com/en/latest/components/vehicle_vweup/docs/index.html
My source code here:
And more about me here:
http://www.arachnon.de/wb/pages/en/welcome.php
Looking forward to new adventures :-)
Chris
I would love to see OVMS in the Aptera! :) Assuming it doesn't have a system that does the same thing. Obviously OVMS being open source, is certainly in the spirit of right-to-repair! :)
Hey Nikki. Great to read from you. I'm a big fan of your show :-)
Right-to-repair, open hardware and open source are surely all part of the same mindset. And if Aptera is developing an own "connectivity system", it would be great if the CAN message ID's would be open documented. The main job on implementing OVMS for the VW e-Up was reverse engineering the CAN messages. That took months.
Btw. Renault has made the Twizy open hardware. At the CES 2017 they presented the Twizy POM as an open EV development platform. Not much heard after that, but I thought it was a great signal from a major manufacturer.
OK, I don't really want to compare the Aptera with the Twizy :-) They are surely different leagues. But it could be worth a thought or two for Aptera on how far the open source idea can be implemented with the car.
Greetinx
Chris