Autopilot and v7 coming this Thursday! (15-10-15)

[mmccord]

No cell-coverage areas are limited areas, and in this day and age are fairly small. All you need is enough data to "bridge the gap" or "cover the donut hole" until cell coverage is back. Pretty simple, actually.

Someone's never driven through Pennsylvania or Vermont...

Of course, Tesla makes driving across Pennsylvania difficult anyway.

 

[roblab]

Someone's never driven through Pennsylvania or Vermont...

Of course, Tesla makes driving across Pennsylvania difficult anyway.

I live a hundred miles north of San Francisco. Guess what! No cell coverage. Screen goes blank. Lots of Teslas. No Maps.

Doesn't have to be in Pennsylvania.

 

[Todd Burch]

Someone's never driven through Pennsylvania or Vermont...

Of course, Tesla makes driving across Pennsylvania difficult anyway.

By fairly small, I mean: even if there is a no-coverage region the size of the entire state of Pennsylvania, a dataset could still be on the car that covers a LOT of that area. For example, even if they simply had markers of GPS coordinates where the driver needs to take control, the entire state could be fit probably in well under 1 MB of data.

 

[Coiled]

I have a different idea of what they mean with the cell upload, it's more that it will notice there's something wrong in a specific spot, and see why, and once they figure it out, they fix the algorithm, not for that spot, but such that it handles all spots that are similar better. therefore it doesn't need cell coverage at that specific spot to do better in the future, it's the algorithm that's improved.

You may be right, and I'm sure the algorithm will improve, but I got the impression a lot of the learning was centered on how to handle very specific locations. And there are going to be many thousands or even millions of locations to learn about.

 

[techmaven]

The companies that are in involved with mapping and navigation with cellular data connected devices will have a leg up here on crowd sourcing navigation and driving behavior. That's Tesla, Google, and Apple. To a lesser extent, Microsoft and various GPS add-on software vendors for smartphones like MotionX. Obviously, Tesla has a better sensor suite in their devices. This also means that for other car manufacturers, they might have to make some changes with respect to their vendor arrangements.

Does any traditional GPS vendors have cellular data connected devices? I think Garmin's Navteq traffic is delivered over FM radio, so it's one way.

 

[Coiled]

Elon: Rollout will start "late tonight" for North America and will take a few days to reach entire fleet [he previously said "roughly five" days, for those who think "a few" equals exactly three]. Europe and Asia are pending regulatory approval which will "hopefully" happen in next few weeks.

Elon: Car will recognize and brake for pedestrians and cyclists, but exercise extreme caution especially in early days. [Will the car steer around a bicyclist like a driver would? I doubt it. You'll have to take over.]

Elon: Lane sensing may fail in heavy precipitation. [Sounds like light rain/snow won't be a problem.]

 

[jeffro01]

Anyone else find it odd that a non-autopilot car is featured on the newly updated 'www.teslamotors.com' homepage?

Jeff

 

[Todd Burch]

Not the case in the mountains around here but that's ok I'm not planing to use it in those places anyways.

Mountainous areas without cell coverage tend to be fairly rural, with few "auto-pilotable" roads. Not much data to deal with. The system could easily mark entire stretches of roadway as "un-autosteerable" with very little data storage required.

- - - Updated - - -

I have a different idea of what they mean with the cell upload, it's more that it will notice there's something wrong in a specific spot, and see why, and once they figure it out, they fix the algorithm, not for that spot, but such that it handles all spots that are similar better. therefore it doesn't need cell coverage at that specific spot to do better in the future, it's the algorithm that's improved.

Right--that's how I understood his explanation in the press conference.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Anyone else find it odd that a non-autopilot car is featured on the newly updated 'www.teslamotors.com' homepage?

Don't want that pesky radar messing up the nice, clean look of the grille, I guess...

 

[hockeythug]

Does anybody have a non Electrek link to the full audio? I can't stand the audio quality on that version.

 

[Chasedrgc1223]

I noticed that too, but maybe that's just a good picture they have.

 

[brianman]

Hank or whoever gets the firmware first -- Can we name it Skynet in the tracker?

Thanks.

 

[ZipByICE]

By fairly small, I mean: even if there is a no-coverage region the size of the entire state of Pennsylvania, a dataset could still be on the car that covers a LOT of that area. For example, even if they simply had markers of GPS coordinates where the driver needs to take control, the entire state could be fit probably in well under 1 MB of data.

Why don't we have offline maps? I had better luck using navigation with DVD based maps (those round shiny disc, at least 12 years back) then with Tesla. Also, having preloaded maps is much faster, no need to wait for new area map to load. I have missed turns many times (yes, I am going too fast but that is why I have Tesla, right?).
My classic 60 is two years old, so no autopilot for me but without preloaded maps, I would be very hesitant to try it in remote area.

 

[JenniferQ]

Me: Clearly amassing a lot of statistics from responsible drivers is going to be critical, so once you get the update, get out there and drive! Can't wait to contribute.

Yes! I am ready to help them amass great quantities of stats!

 

[Todd Burch]

Why don't we have offline maps?

You *DO* have offline maps. They just aren't Google Maps (instrument cluster only), because Google Maps require a TON of data--all the different zoom levels, etc. Tesla should be able to cache at least one detail level for use in offline driving, but there may be a Google licensing restriction on storing maps for offline use--I don't know.

I had better luck using navigation with DVD based maps (those round shiny disc, at least 12 years back) then with Tesla.

Few will argue with you that Tesla's navigation needs some work.

Also, having preloaded maps is much faster, no need to wait for new area map to load. I have missed turns many times (yes, I am going too fast but that is why I have Tesla, right?).

How zoomed in are you on the Google maps? Sounds to me like you're zoomed in too close.

 

[GregTexas]

Elon: Drivers should notice improvements every week or every few weeks even without software updates due to improved fleet intelligence. Example, handing steering correctly around a specific freeway off-ramp.

Wow, that's great news. That will cut down the nags.

 

[scot]

You *DO* have offline maps. They just aren't Google Maps (instrument cluster only), because Google Maps require a TON of data--all the different zoom levels, etc. Tesla should be able to cache at least one detail level for use in offline driving, but there may be a Google licensing restriction on storing maps for offline use--I don't know.

Android and Apple devices are able to use maps in offline mode. Download an offline map - Maps for mobile Help

It is unclear if this data could be used on the Tesla, either by licensing restrictions or programming. Tesla and Google would need to clarify, but the capability certainly does exist.

 

[green1]

Android and Apple devices are able to use maps in offline mode. Download an offline map - Maps for mobile Help

It is unclear if this data could be used on the Tesla, either by licensing restrictions or programming. Tesla and Google would need to clarify, but the capability certainly does exist.

If you've ever tried it though, it's useless for areas with no cell coverage because cellular dead spots are much larger than the area they let you cache, (and those areas tend to be rural, so the next turn is so far away as to be outside the cacheable area

 

[Andyw2100]

I'm surprised no one has posted this yet.

The UI shown in the blog post is the one we've been seeing in the leaks: no temperature, no time, less granular power meter, etc., as opposed to the UI shown during Musk's presentation today.

I wonder if the UI shown in the blog post is the 7.0 UI and the one shown in the Musk presentation was really 7.1.

Blog Post UI:

Media Kit UI:

 

[HankLloydRight]

I wonder if the UI shown in the blog post is the 7.0 UI and the one shown in the Musk presentation was really 7.1.

Are you referring to the youtube video of the conference call? I assumed that was just a graphic that elecrik.co put up behind the audio track. Is there any actual video of the press conference?