Nav Tower

 


Getting lost in exotic countries can sometimes be fun but can also be dangerous in case you don't get to where you need to in time. For the upcoming trip next year the navigation system, or nav tower for short, is built on top of the Rally Raid front tower.

First off some prototyping was needed:




Then a first rough acrylic glass prototype was made:




Initially I thought about laser cutting a aluminum metal plate. However, the makerspace with the laser cutters in Hong Kong only cut carbon and stainless steel so instead decided to go with a bit thicker acrylic glass (4mm) compared to the prototype (3mm).






The idea behind the setup is to have redundant instrumentation for all critical systems much like in an airplane cockpit. The key instrumentations are:


  1. Navigation
    1. Primary: Carpe Iter
    2. Backup: Mobile phone

  2. Speed
    1. Primary: Bike standard instrument
    2. Backup: Carpe Iter

  3. Distance
    1. Primary: Bike instrument
    2. Backup: Carpe Iter

  4. Fuel
    1. Primary: Bike instrumentation
    2. Backup: Open tank and look

  5. Electric power
    1. Primary: Voltage meter
    2. Backup: USB plug also showing voltage

  6. Tyre pressure
    1. Primary: Bluetooth wireless sensors
    2. Backup: Manual pressure gauge


Voltage levels with ignition on with engine off

Engine on. USB battery voltage indicator showing somewhat lower voltage when using the USB to charge a phone.


The Carpe Iter device can be controlled from the handlebar with a Bluetooth connected controller




Finally a test ride to see how well it works in practice:





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