The Parking Pal is an ultrasonic distance meter to help with parking in the garage. It's based on the HC-SR04 and an Arduino Pro Micro. It includes a NeoPixel interface (NeoPixel stick, by default) to display distance, and an integrated buzzer to beep when you're getting too close! It's modular, using a simple USB connector. You can use the sensor and display unit as one piece, or place the sensor elsewhere using a cheap USB extension cable. I tried to design it so that as many parts as possible could be purchased from SparkFun or the like.

The case assembles using standard M3 fasteners, and can be mounted to the wall using double-sided tape or the screw hole features.

The firmware includes various modes, including a bar mode, a "stoplight" mode, and a simple red/yellow/green mode. There is support for setting the mode, brightness and the default park position using a single pushbutton. It's open-source and easily configured.

The PCB, CAD, and firmware are all open source and free to use and modify. You can find the PCB and firmware at my GitHub here. If there is interest, I would happily supply kits with the required parts, and perhaps pre-assembled electronics for those who don't want to purchase/solder their own components.

Parts list

There's a more detailed BOM here.

Required

Optional (to include buzzer)