Timetables from your living room!

The Green Line Extension is headed to my neighborhood, and I wanted to celebrate as well as flex my ECE muscles. What better way to do so than to learn how to use the MBTA API?

I have seen projects in the past that represent transit data on some sort of hardware map. This project is my own interpretation of this idea, with hardware and software that I am creating from scratch. Some of my plans, which are currently under development, are:

1. A map that shows the placement and status of current train cars, controlled by a custom PCB.
2. A miniature collection of overhead train status signs created using 2-line RGB LCD modules.
3. Software that takes train status using the MBTA API to control maps and displays, at this time running on a Raspberry Pi with network capabilities.

If possible, I would also like to be able to estimate bus routes in my neighborhood, and maybe someday expand to traffic data.

I will be updating this page as the project progresses and will commit code and design files to my GitHub page. The goal of this project is to provide myself a platform for continued experimentation and development; hardware components will be abstracted so I can introduce new components I am interested in learning about (microcontrollers, etc).