Vehicle telematics has become a cornerstone of modern transportation, enabling real-time insights into vehicle performance, location, and driver behavior. From fleet management to predictive maintenance, telematics systems provide the data needed to make smart, cost-effective decisions. Copperhill Technologies’ latest blog post highlights an innovative approach: using a Raspberry Pi combined with their PiCAN FD HAT to create a fully functional, customizable telematics gateway.
What Is Vehicle Telematics?
Telematics refers to the integrated use of telecommunications and informatics in vehicles. It enables the transmission of critical vehicle data—such as engine diagnostics, GPS location, speed, fuel efficiency, and more—to external systems for monitoring, analytics, or control. This is essential for applications including:
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Fleet management
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Insurance telematics
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Vehicle tracking and recovery
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Remote diagnostics and over-the-air updates
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Driver behavior analysis
At the heart of many of these systems is the CAN Bus, a communication protocol that allows microcontrollers and devices to communicate within a vehicle without a host computer. And with the evolution to CAN FD (Flexible Data-rate), the bandwidth and efficiency of data transfer have significantly improved.
Why Use Raspberry Pi and PiCAN FD for Telematics?
The Copperhill solution leverages a Raspberry Pi 4—a small, powerful, and widely available computing platform—and combines it with the PiCAN FD HAT, an add-on board that provides CAN FD capability. This combination creates a telematics unit that is not only cost-effective but also highly adaptable.
Key advantages highlighted by Copperhill include:
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Real-time data access from vehicle systems via CAN FD.
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Data logging capabilities, useful for performance analytics and diagnostics.
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GNSS support (via optional modules) to integrate precise vehicle location tracking.
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Industrial use-case potential, such as monitoring agricultural machinery, forklifts, and heavy-duty vehicles.
By capturing data directly from the vehicle’s control units (ECUs), this setup provides a gateway for intelligent applications such as:
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Maintenance scheduling based on real engine hours and usage
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Fuel efficiency optimization
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Fault code reporting and diagnostics
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GPS-based geofencing or route tracking
An Open Platform for Innovation
One of the biggest advantages of the Raspberry Pi–PiCAN FD approach is flexibility. Unlike closed proprietary systems, this open hardware platform allows developers and engineers to tailor the telematics system to their specific needs—whether it’s integrating with a cloud database, building a local dashboard, or testing new fleet optimization algorithms.
Additionally, the setup is not limited to automotive use. As Copperhill notes, its applicability extends to any machinery equipped with a CAN bus—opening doors to telematics applications in construction equipment, farming technology, industrial automation, and more.
Final Thoughts
Copperhill Technologies offers a compelling solution for anyone looking to build or prototype a vehicle telematics system. Their combination of a Raspberry Pi and PiCAN FD HAT provides the essential building blocks for accessing high-speed CAN FD data and integrating it into smart applications. As vehicle data becomes increasingly central to business operations and safety standards, tools like this empower developers and companies to stay ahead with scalable, affordable, and open-source technology.
For more details and the full article, visit Copperhill Technologies:
Implementing Vehicle Telematics with Raspberry Pi and PiCAN FD HAT
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