How It Works
Smart modules plug into your vehicle. A small onboard computer ties everything together. You control it all from your phone—even without cell service.
The Big Picture
Three layers that work together to make your vehicle intelligent.
Smart Modules
Small hardware boxes that plug in around your vehicle. Each one does a specific job—controlling lights, reading sensors, tracking location, monitoring power.
Headwaters
A small computer that lives in your vehicle. It connects all the modules, runs a dashboard you can view in any web browser, and stores maps for offline use.
View Details →Your Phone & Beyond
Control everything from your phone, tablet, or a wall-mounted touchscreen. Nearby? Connect over the vehicle's WiFi. Far away? Connect through the cloud.
Smart Modules
Small, purpose-built hardware boxes that handle specific jobs in your vehicle. Start with one or two, add more as you need them.
Mix & Match
Every module works independently. Want just lighting control? Start with Torrent. Want GPS tracking too? Add Bearing. Each one just plugs in.
Simple Wiring
All modules connect with a single 4-wire cable that carries power and data. Daisy-chain them together—no complicated wiring harnesses. Add or remove modules without rewiring anything.
Updates Over the Air
Each module can receive software updates wirelessly. New features and bug fixes arrive without pulling panels or connecting cables.
Built to Last
All modules use the same automotive-grade communication standard found in cars, trucks, and heavy equipment. Reliable even in harsh conditions.
Available Modules
Each one adds a new capability to your vehicle.
Torrent
Power Distribution
Controls up to 8 lights and accessories. Every connected light becomes dimmable. Monitor power draw in real time.
Bearing
GNSS Location
Tracks your vehicle's position. Get alerts if it moves while in storage. Enables location-aware automation.
View Details →
Borealis
Air Quality Monitor
Monitors temperature, humidity, and air quality. Sounds an alarm and sends alerts if dangerous conditions are detected.
Ampline
Battery Monitor
See battery voltage, current, and charge level at a glance. Know exactly how much power you have left.
Solstice
Solar Monitor
Track how much energy your solar panels are producing. See harvest data alongside consumption for smart power management.
Picket
Cabinet & Door Sensors
Know when cabinets, doors, or compartments open. Get alerts while driving if something shifts during travel.
Aftline
Trailer Wiring Monitor
Checks brake lights, turn signals, running lights, and the charge line on your 7-pin trailer connector before you drive.
Plateau
Vehicle Leveler
Know when you're sitting flat—before you unhitch. Makes campsite setup faster and easier.
Headwaters
A small computer that lives in your vehicle and ties everything together. Paired with a GL.iNet Spitz Plus router, it creates a local Wi-Fi 6 network and serves a dashboard to any device—no internet required.
Works Completely Offline
No internet required. Headwaters runs independently, providing full control and monitoring even in the most remote locations.
Browser-Based Dashboard
Open any web browser on your phone, tablet, or laptop. You'll see a dashboard with controls for lights, thermostat, power status, sensor readings, and more.
Offline Maps
Pre-loaded map tiles so you have navigation even without cell service. 11 different map styles for different situations.
Coordinates Everything
All the smart modules report to Headwaters. It processes the data, runs automation rules, and presents everything in the dashboard.
Your Vehicle Has a Voice
A fully offline AI assistant that lives in your vehicle. Talk to it naturally. It listens, thinks, and responds—all without sending a single byte to the cloud.
Control Anything With Your Voice
Turn lights on or off, set brightness levels, activate DC loads like water pumps and outlets. If TrailCurrent can control it, Peregrine can too—hands-free.
Live System Status on Demand
Ask what the battery state of charge is, what the voltage reads, whether the water pump is running. Peregrine knows your vehicle's state and tells you in plain English.
A Full-Fledged AI Assistant
It can tell you the time, answer questions, and yes—it can even tell you a story. Wake word detection, speech-to-text, local LLM, and text-to-speech, all running on hardware inside the vehicle.
100% Offline. 100% Private.
No API keys. No subscriptions. No data ever leaves the vehicle. Your conversations stay between you and your rig.
Remote Access & Cloud
Drop a SIM card into the router and the same device that runs your local network becomes a cellular gateway. Monitor and control your vehicle from anywhere in the world, push firmware updates over the air, and sync data to the cloud. This layer is completely optional—everything works without it.
Monitor From Home
Check on your vehicle while it's in storage. See battery health, temperature, and security status from your couch.
Push Notifications & SMS Alerts
Get alerts on your phone if something needs attention—motion detected in storage, low battery, temperature extremes, or movement. With a SIM-capable router, critical alerts can also be sent via SMS—no app or internet connection required on the receiving end.
You Host It, You Own It
Farwatch is self-hostable. Run it on your own server or a cheap cloud instance. Your data never touches anyone else's servers.
Why the Cloud is Optional
Everything works without it. Headwaters provides full functionality on its own. Farwatch just adds convenience when you're away:
- Remote monitoring from anywhere
- Push notifications to your phone
- Historical data and trends
- Multi-vehicle fleet visibility
- Data backup and sync
Android App
A dedicated Android app for vehicle control. Quick access to lights, thermostat, power status, and sensor readings right from your pocket.
Works Nearby & Far Away
At camp, the app connects directly to the vehicle's WiFi. Away from the vehicle, it connects through the cloud for remote access.
Real-Time Data
Live sensor readings, power status, tank levels, and GPS position. See what's happening with your vehicle right now.
Quick Controls
Toggle lights, adjust the thermostat, and run automation routines with a tap. No need to open a browser.
Under the Hood
For those who want to know the technical details.
Hardware Modules
ESP32 and ESP32-C6 microcontrollers with FreeRTOS firmware, built with PlatformIO. All hardware designed in KiCAD with open schematics, PCB layouts, and 3D-printable enclosures.
Communication
CAN bus (TWAI protocol)—the same automotive-grade standard used in cars and heavy equipment. Priority-based arbitration, deterministic delivery, simple 4-wire daisy-chain wiring.
Headwaters
Docker Compose stack with Mosquitto MQTT broker, Node.js API, tileserver for offline maps, Python CAN-to-MQTT bridge, and vanilla JavaScript progressive web app.
Farwatch
Cloud UI for managing the vehicle remotely. Node.js with MongoDB, JWT auth, WebSocket real-time updates, and push notifications. Fully self-hostable via Docker Compose.
Outbound
Native Android app with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose. Material Design 3, local WiFi and cloud connectivity, real-time sensor data display.
Peregrine
Python-based edge AI stack. Wake word detection, Whisper speech-to-text, local LLM inference, and TTS synthesis. MQTT integration for full vehicle control. Runs entirely on-device — no cloud, no API keys, no data leaving the vehicle.
Open Source
30+ repositories (and growing) on GitHub under the MIT license. CAN bus message definitions in standard DBC format with a web-based editor included.
See What's Inside
Browse every module and component that makes up the platform.