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AutoPilot - note to drivers and Consumer Reports

Discussion in 'Model X' started by xkwizit, Jul 16, 2016.

  1. Purralator

    Purralator Member

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    Yes I knew that. I meant it in the traditional sense not an actual ignition being there . Anything constructive to say?
     
  2. ccutrer

    ccutrer Active Member

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    If you knew that, why did you reference something that obviously does not exist? It just makes you sound like someone that has never been in a Tesla before, and it's hard to take suggestions (even if it is possibly a good suggestion) from someone that seems like they are pontificating and have never actually experienced the car they are trying to make improvements to.

    On the flip side, fingerprint to enable the car rather than a key could be an interesting development. You'd want a scanner on each of the door handles (or at least the driver's door) so that you could actually get into the car. And then hope it doesn't ice over in the winter :).
     
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  3. Purralator

    Purralator Member

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    How else would you describe the area where an ignition would traditionally be? Without being long-winded. I am 100% a Tesla fan and will be a Model 3 owner when it comes, already reserved. I have convinced my parents to replace their 2010 Chevy traverse for a Model X. They are going through the process currently with financing with their bank. With that said please understand I was not criticizing the current implementation. I was just suggesting a possible compromise given the media's BS that keeps being spread. I have test driven a Model S so I am somewhat familiar with the current vehicles.
     
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  4. ccutrer

    ccutrer Active Member

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    I'd call it either the steering column, or the dashboard, depending on where you put it.

    And I'm glad you've test driven a Tesla. I apologize for seeming curt. At least half, probably much more, of the shitstorm around Auto Pilot is from people that actually understand nothing about Auto Pilot, electric cars, or Teslas. They just know someone died in a self-driving car, which is foreign and scary to them. And your being new to the forum I had no bio, signature, or past posts to go read and see if you had an real world experience with Tesla. Welcome to the forum, btw! I can't wait for my own Model 3 (our X is the wife's/family car. I do seem to be driving it a disproportionate amount of the time, though :) ).
     
    • Like x 3
  5. Purralator

    Purralator Member

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    Steering column would've been a better choice, the word wasn't coming to mind haha :) . I understand the assumption that I may not have been in one before. Like you said I'm a new member to the forum and things are a bit tense recently with non-owners trying to pass their judgement when they haven't been inside one

    Thank you for the welcome! I'll have to get my dad on here as well, there are a lot of good reads. I'm looking forward to driving their X when they get it and even more excited to build my Model 3 when my reservation comes up! And obviously to drive it too haha
     
    • Like x 2
  6. xkwizit

    xkwizit Member

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    @Purralator - welcome to the forum and we will welcome your dad too. There's definitely some excellent info sharing on this forum with real life advice on both making best use of your Tesla as well as dealing with any issues.

    And yes, it gets toasty in here from time to time with some non-owners and others with financial motives trying to make headlines but if you can get past that..it's an excellent community.

    PS: Is your screen name a twist on the good old oil filter company Purolator?
     
  7. Electroman

    Electroman Supporting Member

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    I agree. These are the kind of stats Elon should be staying away from at this stage.

    This 1 in 130M should all be put in context.
     
    • Like x 1
  8. Ron2andia

    Ron2andia Member

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    Great letter and response! Hope they get the point...
     
  9. ZsoZso

    ZsoZso Supporting Member

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    I own a "classic" S85 built before the autopilot hardware was introduced (missed it by ~2weeks), thus so far I had no experience with the autopilot. However, today I left my car at the service centre and got a loaner with autopilot. My first impression is that it is very cool. One thing that makes me feel a bit uneasy that sometimes I am not sure if it is on or not -- maybe I am just a noob and did not learn how to see the status on the dash. Yes, there is an audio-beep signal when it turns off for whatever reason (e.g. lost lane markings on some side road where they are not clear), however with passengers talking in the car and some outside noise, it is easy to miss. I would prefer some strong visual indicator on the dash screen, e.g. switching the view back to the classic car rendering when autopilot is off.

    The point I am trying to make is that with some software tweaks it could be made more obvious when the system is disengaged to increase its safety as I fear the danger of the driver thinking autopilot is on, when it is not and that leading to some accident.
     
    • Like x 3
  10. Chopr147

    Chopr147 Active Member

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    Elon has been tweeting this week about improvements to AP and also possibility AP can be vastly improved using current hardware. Very exciting news otherwise I have no advice for Tesla regarding safety due to the fact they know what the hell they are doing! Certainly far more than me :)
     
    • Like x 1
  11. sammyfan711

    sammyfan711 Member

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    Nice job getting retweeting by Elon on this post! We all think he is too busy to notice our musings but when it comes down to it he is just another one of us - using every moment possible to get the latest and greatest newest info!
     
  12. KaiserSoze

    KaiserSoze Member

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    I'm not sure that's a winning argument. After all, they started off calling it "Auto-pilot" but it ended up as "cruise control." Why didn't it stick? Probably because consumers thought that name implied functionality the feature didn't have. If we don't learn from the mistakes of the past, we are doomed to repeat them.
     
  13. Jbailey

    Jbailey Member

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    I'm just trying to picture my Grandmother hopping in her 1958 Imperial, erroneously thinking the car had some futuristic implied functionality like 8 track, air conditioning or self driving ....
     
    • Funny x 1
  14. Oceanwolf

    Oceanwolf Oceanwolf

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    Well said.
     
  15. Oceanwolf

    Oceanwolf Oceanwolf

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    Why?, I am not buying a gun for God's sake.
     
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  16. dutchinchicago

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    Consumer reports have a point. If autopilot is not 100% safe and they can not guarantee that no one ever will die or get hurt whilst using it we should ban it even if it safer than driving without autopilot. For that same reason we should also ban all cars without auto pilot, bicycles, scissors, knives, guns, balloons and pretzels. I am sure Consumer Reports can provide us with a more comprehensive list.

    Likewise we should remove other safety devices like crumble zones, air bags and seat belts because they give people a false sense of security and 30000 people die each year as a result of using a car equipped with those clearly dangerous devices.
     
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  17. ZsoZso

    ZsoZso Supporting Member

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    Indeed, I would go further and make it compulsory for all car manufacturers to install a large sharp steel spike to the center of the steering wheel pointed towards the chest of the driver, so in case of a crash, the driver would be impaled by it. This would make it very likely that he/she is killed. Such device would reduce traffic accidents dramatically as drivers would drive much more carefully.
     
    • Funny x 4
  18. srini

    srini Banned

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    #98 srini, Jul 19, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2016
    Bogus logic from some posters. None of those safety devices allows a driver to take his eyes off the road, or stop driving and take a nap. How many people use cruise control in heavy traffic?

    The choice is really simple. If you are a good driver, drive yourself. Your chance of accident is lower than averages.
    If you are a pretty bad driver or don't know how to drive or keep your car within the lane, then let the AP drive you around, and hope it lowers your chance of accident. Then, you never improve and remain a bad driver for life :(
     
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    • Like x 1
  19. scottf200

    scottf200 Active Member

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    Are you suggesting people don't use 'adaptive cruise control' aka gap (Ford), aka traffic aware CC ... traffic that has varying speeds. Certainly they do.
     
  20. KaiserSoze

    KaiserSoze Member

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    #100 KaiserSoze, Jul 19, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2016
    In the literal sense, "Auto" can mean "automobile" or "by itself or automatic". "Pilot" = "a person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft", i.e. a "driver." So, we have either "automobile driver" or "automatic driver."

    Twenty years from now, when all cars are fully self driving, you'll might people say, "Honey, could you get me a sandwich? I'll eat it on the drive as soon as I engage the _________". Or, "Let's send the ________ to pick up Sally from soccer." Let's fill in the blank. What is the most likely please that they will use? "Autonomous mode?" "Self driving feature?" Nah, all too kludgy. There already exists a word which matches perfectly. "Autopilot." And that's why Tesla has gone for it. It's a land grab, but in a decade or two it will describe the situation perfectly.

    Finally, there is the aircraft sense, where the autopilot is engaged 90% of the time. Aircraft autopilots present far fewer demands of the pilots when engaged than Autopilot does. For example, there is no beep that constantly requests pilots place their hands on the yolk, or restrict the aircraft speed. It disengages by itself very rarely. Most aircraft can even land themselves in poor visibility.

    Given that Autopilot is even less capable than aircraft autopilots, we need a term which implies an even higher level of chaperoning. And the level of chaperoning must be high. Aircraft autopilots can cause even professional, trained pilots to become confused out and place their aircraft at risk when autopilot is assist not fully available, or disengages unexpectedly, as we've seen with Air France Flight 447 and Asiana Airlines Flight 217.

    Google has seen this effect as well in their level 2 autonomous driving trials, causing them to skip their development and head directly to full autonomy instead. The brain just does not respond to high levels of automation, like autopilots, in the same way it responds to lower levels of automation, like cruise control. When bored, the brain turns itself off or focuses on something else, if even subconsciously. It is beyond most human's ability to control. Cruise control will never make you bored. If you use Autopilot enough, however, you will get bored eventually. And that's dangerous.

    We can't use "Copilot" as the name, as that implies the car is your equal, when it clearly is not. May I suggest, instead, "Zombie Mode." It assigns the correct level of intelligence to the car's automatic systems, implying that it will work most of the time, but is not capable of anything fancy (like stoplights), just like a zombie. Like a zombie, it is capable of focusing on a goal single-mindedly for long periods of time. Like a zombie, it may occasionally do odd things, like jerk you to the right. Like a zombie, it requires a high level of vigilance when one is around. Most importantly, though, zombies are contagious, which is a constant reminder not to let the little zombie mode inside of you turn on while it operates, lest your distraction endanger yourself or others. Two zombies does not one good driver make.
     
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