2017 MX 100D: Will we ever get birdseye view?

[JenkinsEar]

We have been, all in all, very satisfied with our Model X over the last 4 years. Two usability deficiencies still bug us:

1. We are in our eighties and really need a grab bar on front seat passenger side to aid in entry/exit. Understand the lack of space due to cable runs, etc. in this particular car, but will the refresh have such a feature? If not, are there any third-party solutions to this lack?

2. Because of our driver heights, as well as car dimensions/geometry, we do not see the left front of the car from the driver's position. This makes it difficult for us to maneuver easily/safely when pulling into diagonal parking spaces. A birdseye view of the car that shows the immediate right and left sides of the vehicle would help immeasurably. Other brands of cars have had this for years. We keep hearing that' it's coming ("real soon now") but no joy as yet.

Will birdseye be made available to all current and previous models, do we know? If so, when? Will FSD be a prereq? Or not? (We have applied for FSD Beta but our driver score (current = 97) is apparently too low to allow us to qualify.) We are not particularly interested in FSD per se - we just want to be able to press a screen control, see the birdseye display, get parked, and turn the birdseye back off.

Interested in others' thoughts.

 

[mxnym]

Re (1): See this recent thread.

Re (2): The cameras aren't aimed in such a way that 360 view is possible from cameras alone. There has been rumbling of a simulated 360 view using other sensors and/or object permanence for some time, but no one here is likely to know when/if that will occur, much less which vehicles will be eligible. It seems incredibly unlikely with MCU1 sinye FSD preview wouldn't even work on that. Alor seems incredibly unlikely on HW 2.5 since they wouldn't be actively developing on that anymore. That having been said, IMO it would remain pretty unlikely even if you got those upgrades considering that we don't even get the blind spot camera feature added (yet?). Out of curiosity, why aren't the visuals from the forward ultrasonics good enough for you to park?

 

[JenkinsEar]

Hi mxnym:

Thanks for the response.

The ultrasonics work fine for ensuring that we avoid bumping into posts, etc., in front of the car. What we need assistance with is assessing our position in relationship to white lines, or combinations of lines and curbs, between which we're maneuvering. The birdseye view provided by many other manufacturers satisfies this requirement quite well. Since no other car (that I know of) has a camera suspended overhead, I'm assuming that they generate the image based on a number of available hardware inputs and piece in the missing information digitally. Why can't Tesla do that?

 

[mxnym]

The cars with this feature have a downward facing camera on the front bumper or grille, Teslas do not. The other cameras on these vehicles are also aimed specifically for this feature. The other cameras on Teslas are aimed for driving, so even if the location is similar, the available view is not.

 

[JenkinsEar]

Nevertheless, the s/w could simulate what it doesn't actually see - especially when it comes to objects such as white lines demarking parking spaces. Maybe display what is actually seen in one color, and what is projected in another color or perhaps dashed. And as one moves forward, and the previously projected line path gets confirmed (or not) the display could be updated to reflect a more (or less) firm projection. I could live with that...

 

[jboy210]

Nevertheless, the s/w could simulate what it doesn't actually see - especially when it comes to objects such as white lines demarking parking spaces. Maybe display what is actually seen in one color, and what is projected in another color or perhaps dashed. And as one moves forward, and the previously projected line path gets confirmed (or not) the display could be updated to reflect a more (or less) firm projection. I could live with that...

I would not trust a simulated layout and it has limitations that do not need to exist, especially since the answer is obvious. Tesla needs to put a wide-angle camera above the front bumper in the nose of the car. This camera would cost very little, and in addition to the existing cameras would facilitate the bird's eye view we all could use. I find it incredible that Tesla has not implemented this feature considering the competition has had this ability for over a decade.