Android Auto Development setup

Hi All, I am not sure if this is post is ok here so please let me know if not. I did not see any other android community that was a decent size for development so figured there might be some devs in here.

I recently forked an FOSS project that has an android auto component to it. I don't have a physical device to test with in my car so I need to set up an emulator.

Challenge is, I am struggling to figure out how to do so, from what I can gather, it is either the same? or you can launch from a local device connected via usb and it launches to an emulator as if it was a head unit? I am clearly missing something and all the articles I've seen have not really gotten me over the finish line.

Any links or tips appreciated!