Carputer
computer with specializations to run in a car
A carputer, or car-puter, is a computer with specializations to run in a car, such as compact size, low power requirement, and some customized components. The computing hardware is typically based on standard PCs or mobile devices. They normally have standard interfaces such as Bluetooth, USB, and Wi-Fi. The first carputer was introduced by Clarion on December 4, 1998, although on-board diagnostics have been employed since the 1980s to precisely measure the amount of fuel entering the engine as the carburetors got too complex.
A challenge to installing a computer in a car is the power supply. Energy is supplied as a nominal 12 VDC in cars or 24 VDC in some trucks. The voltage varies according to whether the engine is on or off since the battery generally delivers 12V, while the generator supplies more. There can be peaks, and at ignition time the supply current drops. External DC/DC converters can help to regulate voltages.
Police cars often have mobile data terminals in the form of a laptop swivel mounted where the driver's armrest would be.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Carputer” as computer with specializations to run in a car. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as computer with specializations to run in a car. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1035246. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1998.
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This entry incorporates text from “Carputer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.