Implementing Dynamic Vehicle Images in Home Assistant for Ultra Vehicle Card

This guide will walk you through the process of implementing dynamic vehicle images in Home Assistant for use with the Ultra Vehicle Card. By following these steps, you'll be able to create sensors that change their entity picture based on the status of various vehicle components, allowing you to display different images for open and closed states, as well as a main image when everything is closed.

Using the GUI

Using Home Assistant GUI to Create a Dynamic Vehicle Image for Ultra Vehicle Card

This guide will walk you through the process of creating a dynamic vehicle image using Home Assistant's built-in image template feature through the GUI. This method is ideal for those who prefer not to edit YAML files directly.

Prerequisites

1. Home Assistant installed and running
2. Access to the Home Assistant web interface
3. Image files for each state of your vehicle components (e.g., front_left_door_open.png, front_left_door_closed.png, etc.)
4. A main image of your vehicle when all components are closed (e.g., vehicle_closed.png)

Step 1: Prepare Your Images

1. Create or obtain PNG images for each state of your vehicle components (open and closed).
2. Create or obtain a main image of your vehicle with all components closed.
3. Upload these images to your Home Assistant instance:
   • In the Home Assistant web interface, go to Configuration > File editor
   • Navigate to the www folder (create it if it doesn't exist)
   • Upload your images to this folder

Step 2: Create the Image Template

1. In the Home Assistant web interface, go to Configuration > Helpers
2. Click the "Add Helper" button
3. Choose "Image" from the list of helper types
4. Fill in the form as follows:
   • Name: "Vehicle Image"
   • Icon: Choose an appropriate icon (e.g., mdi:car)
   • Image URL: Leave this blank for now
   • Use template: Check this box
   • Template: Paste the following template:

{% if is_state('binary_sensor.front_left_door', 'on') %}
  /local/front_left_door_open.png
{% elif is_state('binary_sensor.front_right_door', 'on') %}
  /local/front_right_door_open.png
{% elif is_state('binary_sensor.back_left_door', 'on') %}
  /local/back_left_door_open.png
{% elif is_state('binary_sensor.back_right_door', 'on') %}
  /local/back_right_door_open.png
{% elif is_state('binary_sensor.trunk', 'on') %}
  /local/trunk_open.png
{% elif is_state('binary_sensor.hood', 'on') %}
  /local/hood_open.png
{% elif is_state('binary_sensor.fuel_door', 'on') %}
  /local/fuel_door_open.png
{% elif is_state('binary_sensor.front_left_window', 'on') %}
  /local/front_left_window_open.png
{% elif is_state('binary_sensor.front_right_window', 'on') %}
  /local/front_right_window_open.png
{% elif is_state('binary_sensor.back_left_window', 'on') %}
  /local/back_left_window_open.png
{% elif is_state('binary_sensor.back_right_window', 'on') %}
  /local/back_right_window_open.png
{% else %}
  /local/vehicle_closed.png
{% endif %}

5. Click "Create" to save the helper

Step 3: Verify Helper Creation

1. Go to Developer Tools > States
2. Search for your newly created helper (it should be image.vehicle_image)
3. Verify that the entity_picture attribute of the helper is the correct image path based on the current state of your vehicle's components

Step 4: Configure Ultra Vehicle Card

1. Open the Lovelace dashboard where you want to add or update your Ultra Vehicle Card
2. Edit the Ultra Vehicle Card configuration
3. Set the "Entity" to image.vehicle_image
4. Make sure the card is configured to use the entity_picture attribute for displaying images

Manual Method (Legacy)

Prerequisites

1. Home Assistant installed and running

2. Access to your Home Assistant configuration files

3. Image files for each state of your vehicle components (e.g., front_left_door_open.png, front_left_door_closed.png, etc.)

4. A main image of your vehicle when all components are closed (e.g., vehicle_closed.png)

Step 1: Prepare Your Images

1. Create or obtain PNG images for each state of your vehicle components (open and closed).
2. Create or obtain a main image of your vehicle with all components closed.
3. Place these images in your Home Assistant config/www/ directory. This directory is accessible via the /local/ URL in Home Assistant.

Step 2: Configure Template Sensors

1. Open your Home Assistant configuration file (usually configuration.yaml).
2. Add the following template sensor configuration:

template:
  - sensor:
      - name: "Vehicle Image"
        state: "closed"
        attribute_templates:
          entity_picture: >
            {% if is_state('binary_sensor.front_left_door', 'on') %}
              /local/images/front_left_door_open.png
            {% elif is_state('binary_sensor.front_right_door', 'on') %}
              /local/images/front_right_door_open.png
            {% elif is_state('binary_sensor.back_left_door', 'on') %}
              /local/images/back_left_door_open.png
            {% elif is_state('binary_sensor.back_right_door', 'on') %}
              /local/images/back_right_door_open.png
            {% elif is_state('binary_sensor.trunk', 'on') %}
              /local/images/trunk_open.png
            {% elif is_state('binary_sensor.hood', 'on') %}
              /local/images/hood_open.png
            {% elif is_state('binary_sensor.fuel_door', 'on') %}
              /local/images/fuel_door_open.png
            {% elif is_state('binary_sensor.front_left_window', 'on') %}
              /local/images/front_left_window_open.png
            {% elif is_state('binary_sensor.front_right_window', 'on') %}
              /local/images/front_right_window_open.png
            {% elif is_state('binary_sensor.back_left_window', 'on') %}
              /local/images/back_left_window_open.png
            {% elif is_state('binary_sensor.back_right_window', 'on') %}
              /local/images/back_right_window_open.png
            {% else %}
              /local/images/vehicle_closed.png
            {% endif %}

3. Save the configuration file.

Step 3: Restart Home Assistant

1. After saving the configuration, restart Home Assistant to apply the changes.
2. You can do this from the Home Assistant web interface by navigating to Configuration > Server Controls and clicking on "Restart" under the Server Management section.

Step 4: Verify Sensor Creation

1. Once Home Assistant has restarted, go to the States page in the Developer Tools.
2. Search for the newly created sensor (sensor.vehicle_image).
3. Verify that the entity_picture attribute of the sensor is the correct image path based on the current state of your vehicle's components.

Step 5: Configure Ultra Vehicle Card

1. Open the configuration for your Ultra Vehicle Card.
2. Set the "Entity" to sensor.vehicle_image.
3. Make sure the card is configured to use the entity_picture attribute for displaying images.

How It Works

The template sensor we've created (sensor.vehicle_image) works as follows:

1. The sensor's state is always set to "closed". This state isn't used for the image display but could be useful for other automations.
2. The entity_picture attribute is dynamically set based on the state of various binary sensors representing your vehicle's components.
3. The template checks each component in a specific order. The first open component it finds determines the image that will be displayed.
4. If all components are closed (i.e., none of the 'if' conditions are met), it displays the main vehicle image (vehicle_closed.png).

Customization

You can customize this setup in several ways:

1. Change the order of the checks in the template to prioritize certain components.
2. Add more components by adding more conditions to the template.
3. Use different images for different states or components.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Check that your binary sensors (e.g., binary_sensor.front_left_door) exist and are working correctly.
2. Ensure that the image paths in the template sensor match the actual locations of your images in the www directory.
3. Verify that the image files have the correct permissions for Home Assistant to access them.
4. If the Ultra Vehicle Card isn't displaying the image, make sure it's configured to use the entity_picture attribute.

Conclusion

You have now set up a dynamic vehicle image sensor in Home Assistant for use with the Ultra Vehicle Card. This sensor will automatically update to show the correct image based on the state of your vehicle's components, providing a more interactive and informative display. When all components are closed, it will show the main vehicle image.

Remember to adjust the sensor names and image paths as needed to match your specific setup and image filenames.