01GNSS
Position and heading
Parse multi-constellation GNSS data and show coordinates, altitude, speed, heading, fix quality, and satellite status.
FREE & OPEN SOURCE · ESP32-S3
One round screen.
Your vehicle and road, understood.
TrailSpud is a vehicle computer and HUD for open-hardware builders, car modifiers, overlanders, and developers. It brings positioning, vehicle, attitude, environmental, and track data onto a 2.1-inch round touch display.
480 × 480round RGB10+1device states9core screens
ENCLOSUREUPDATED LAYOUT
ASSEMBLYMODULAR / SERVICEABLE
OPEN ROADS.
OPEN CODE.BUILT BY OLDPOTATOES.
PRODUCT / 01
The round screen is
both interface and form.
The rounded-square main shell is built around a 75 mm-class round display and board. A separate GNSS and magnetometer pod sits above, while the rear integrates a shielding adapter, an isolated BME280 air path, and a directional suction mount. The reference design is removable, serviceable, and ready for further modification.
These images communicate the current appearance and assembly direction. Final openings, clearances, materials, and dimensions remain subject to engineering models and physical validation.
INTERFACE / 02
Built for a 480 × 480
round display.
Swipe horizontally through real device screens
CAPABILITIES / 03
Not another gauge.
An open vehicle platform.
TrailSpud brings real-time driving, outdoor positioning, vehicle diagnostics, and device maintenance into one local system. Data stays on the device, and Wi-Fi is enabled only for maintenance.
02OBD-II
Understand your vehicle
Connect to a vLinker BM+ over BLE to read speed, RPM, coolant temperature, voltage, load, and generic trouble codes.
03IMU
Off-road attitude
Display pitch and roll in real time, zero mounting offsets, and use color-coded levels to flag tilt risk.
04GPX
Log every journey
Record GPX tracks with SmartBeaconing, rebuild the route on the round display, and save vehicle data for analysis.
05SENSE
Environment and diagnostics
Monitor temperature, humidity, pressure, battery, and 11 hardware or service states without hiding faults in logs.
06WEB
Maintenance Wi-Fi on demand
Enable Wi-Fi only when needed, then use a phone to inspect status, adjust settings, manage tracks, and perform OTA updates.
HARDWARE / 04
From enclosure to firmware,
there is room to keep creating.
The current hardware targets the Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-2.1. Its enclosure combines a rounded-square main shell, a separate sensor pod, an internal shielding adapter, and a replaceable mount. Firmware is based on ESP-IDF 5.5.3 and LVGL, with functional modules running as independent tasks.
Open roads. Open code. Released free and open source—read it, validate it, modify it, and contribute.
- 01Controller
- ESP32-S3
- 02Display
- 2.1-inch round RGB touch display
- 03Resolution
- 480 × 480
- 04Enclosure
- Rounded-square main shell · separate top sensor pod
- 05Mount
- Shielding adapter plate · directional ball-joint suction mount
- 06Graphics
- LVGL 8.3 · double buffering
- 07Positioning
- LC76G multi-constellation GNSS
- 08Vehicle data
- BLE OBD-II · vLinker BM+
- 09Attitude
- QMI8658 six-axis IMU
- 10Environment
- BME280 temperature, humidity, and pressure
- 11Storage
- microSD · GPX / CSV / logs
- 12Maintenance
- On-demand Wi-Fi web console
QUICK START / 05
From hardware to road
in three steps.
This quick guide targets the current hardware revision. Use a complete USB flash for first installation and upgrades from older partition layouts.
PREPARE
Prepare the hardware
- Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-2.1
- microSD card (FAT32)
- LC76G GNSS and BME280
- Optional vLinker BM+ BLE OBD adapter
FLASH
Build and flash
Install and activate ESP-IDF 5.5.3, then perform a complete USB flash.
idf.py build
idf.py -p PORT flash monitorDRIVE
First start
- Point the GNSS antenna toward the sky and wait outdoors for the first fix.
- Park on level ground, open the attitude screen, and run ZERO ANGLES.
- When configuration is needed, long-press to enable the maintenance hotspot and open 192.168.4.1.
01 How do I update firmware through the web console? +
Enable the maintenance hotspot, connect your phone, and open 192.168.4.1. Devices already using the complete partition layout from 0.0.21 or later can upload application firmware over OTA. Updates are rejected while track recording is active.
02 Why does GPS show time but no coordinates? +
Receiving NMEA data or UTC time indoors does not mean a position fix is available. Move the antenna to an open outdoor location, keep it still, and wait for the first fix.
03 What if OBD never connects? +
Confirm that you are using a BLE-capable vLinker BM+, the ignition is on, and no other OBD app on your phone is holding the adapter connection.
04 Can an older release be upgraded directly over OTA? +
When upgrading from the old 3 MB OTA layout, flashing only the application binary is not enough. First use USB to write the current bootloader, partition table, initial OTA data, and application. Web OTA can be used afterward.
FIRMWARE / 06
Put TrailSpud
on your round display.
The current prebuilt stable firmware is v0.0.27, while the repository source is at v0.0.28. This download is intended for OTA updates on devices that have already received a complete flash with the new partition layout.
Important: When upgrading from the old 3 MB OTA layout, complete a full USB flash first. Do not upload this application binary directly.