[j3tstream] desired an easier method to screen web traffic on the roads in his area. Specifically, he wished to screen the roads from his cars and truck while driving. That meant it needed to be simple to use, as well as not as well distracting.

[j3tstream] figured he might utilize a Raspberry Pi to run the system. This would make things simple since he’d have a full Linux system at his disposal. The Pi is fairly low power, so it’s run from a cars and truck cigarette lighter adapter. [j3tstream] did have to add a custom power button to the Pi. This enables the system to boot up as well as shut down gracefully, preventing system data from being corrupted.

After browsing eBay, [j3tstream] discovered an low-cost 3.2″ TFT LCD touchscreen screen that would work well for showing the web traffic data. The screen was simple to get working with the Pi. [j3tstream] utilized the Raspbian linux distribution. His project page includes a link to download a Raspbian picture that already includes the necessary modules to work with the LCD screen. when the picture is loaded, all that needs to be done is to calibrate the screen utilizing built-in operating system functions.

The system still needed a data connection. To make things simple as well as inexpensive, [j3tstream] utilized a USB WiFi dongle. The Pi then links to a WiFi hot area developed into his 4G mobile phone. To view the web traffic map, [j3tstream] just links to a website that screens web traffic for his area.

The last steps were to automate as much as possible. After all, you don’t want to be fumbling with a bit touch screen while driving. [j3tstream] made some edits to the LXDE autostart file. These modifications immediately tons a browser in full screen mode to the web traffic website. now when [j3tstream] boots up his Pi, it immediately links to his WiFi hotspot as well as tons up regional web traffic maps.