DriveLogic

Motion-Based Digital Gear Indicator & Telemetry Display

ShiftSense HUD is a custom-built digital gear knob and vehicle telemetry system designed for manual transmission cars.
It uses motion sensing (IMU) and GPS data to display real-time gear position, speed, and performance metrics on a compact OLED screen.

Built and tested on a Toyota AE101 (4A-GE swapped), this system is designed to feel OEM, motorsport-inspired, and reliable in real driving conditions.

✨ Features

• 🎯 Motion-based gear detection

  • No switches, no linkage sensors
  • Uses IMU tilt vectors mounted directly in the gear knob

• 🧭 Elliptical gear zones

  • More realistic than rectangular zones
  • Matches real H-pattern shifter movement

• ⚙️ Neutral line logic

  • Gear changes only register through Neutral
  • Prevents accidental gear jumps (e.g., 2 → 4)

• 📟 OLED HUD (128×64)

  • Large gear display
  • Speed overlay
  • Multiple display modes

• 🛰️ GPS Speed & Performance

  • Accurate km/h display
  • 0–100 km/h timer
  • GPS fix & timeout fail-safe

• 🌊 Fluid / Circle Mode

  • Motion-reactive animation driven by IMU data

• 🔁 Mode Button

  • Short press: cycle modes
  • Long press: invert display

• 🛡️ Fail-safe design

  • GPS lock detection
  • Speed filtering to avoid false 1 km/h readings
  • 0–100 mode locked until GPS is ready

🧩 System Architecture

This project uses two microcontrollers, each with a dedicated role:

🔹 Arduino Nano (Gear Sensor Unit)

• MPU6050 IMU
• Handles:
  • Motion filtering
  • Neutral calibration
  • Elliptical gear zone detection
• Sends gear data to ESP32 via UART

🔹 ESP32-C3 (HUD Controller)

• OLED display
• GPS module (TinyGPS++)
• Handles:
  • UI rendering
  • Mode switching
  • Speed & performance calculations

🔌 Hardware Used

• Arduino Nano
• ESP32-C3
• MPU6050 IMU
• GPS Module (NEO-6M or compatible)
• 128×64 OLED (SSD1306, I²C)
• Momentary push button

🧠 Why Elliptical Gear Zones?

Traditional rectangular zones cause:

• Gear overlap
• False shifts
• Poor diagonal detection

Elliptical zones:

• Match the natural arc of a shifter
• Allow smoother transitions
• Reduce misclassification between adjacent gears (2↔4, 1↔3)

Adaptive ellipse sizing further compensates for:

• Driver force variation
• Chassis vibration
• Sensor mounting angle

🛰️ GPS Notes

• GPS requires cold start time (up to several minutes on first power-up)
• Small speed readings (0–1 km/h) while stationary are normal due to:
  • Satellite drift
  • Doppler noise

Mitigations implemented:

• Speed dead-zone
• GPS fix validation
• Timeout warning
• 0–100 mode locked until GPS is stable

⚠️ Important Notes

• This project is vehicle-installed
• Code changes should be made carefully
• Neutral calibration assumes the shifter is untouched at startup
• IMU is mounted inverted (logic adjusted in software)

📜 License

This project is released for educational and personal use.
Use at your own risk when installing in a vehicle.