Bat Weight

[ai4px]

Attached are pictures of a 1lb bat weight we bought at a local sporting goods store. Last night I cut it in half and drilled two 10.2mm diameter shallow holes in each face. Glued a 10mm magnet in each end voila - homemade autopilot buddy. You might put a little fingernail polish on the ends to keep them from rusting. I think it's powdered metal because my drill wouldn't pull a chip, it just pilled out. If I do another one, I'll probably use a 10mm end mill.

 

[JeroenNL]

Great idea.
And when you smash into a bridge pole next week or so, all the "journalists" can agree on how unsafe autopilot is and how irresponsible Tesla is in exposing the world to their beta software...

 

[bishoppeak]

Great idea.
And when you smash into a bridge pole next week or so, all the "journalists" can agree on how unsafe autopilot is and how irresponsible Tesla is in exposing the world to their beta software...

Is that you Mom?

 

[ewoodrick]

No, that's the voice of thousand of other Tesla drivers that get 1/2 mile nags because of people who like this.

 

[Mensrea]

Tough crowd... I'm sure he knows its irresponsible, but thats his decision to make.

+1 for you @bishoppeak

 

[RDoc]

"He knows when you've been sleeping,
He knows when you're awake,
Darwin is coming to town"

 

[OPRCE]

While OP may believe he has saved over 9000% by tricking Carl Reese out of $190, this is in fact a false economy.

If a (more likely) crash happens in Firetruck Super-Destruction mode and the insurance-adjuster/cops find this thing in the wreckage, they may well argue you invalidated your insurance cover by using it to defeat a designed safety feature of the vehicle.

The question then becomes, even if you do not particularly care about your own life, do you really want to leave your wife/kids penniless after you are gone?

 

[ai4px]

The truth is, there is no place for autopilot (in it's present form) anywhere near a city. It is nice when stuck in stop/go do leave it on so it creeps up when the guy in front of me does. It is nice on long freeway trips. There is no place for autopilot in traffic that is flowing but might suddenly stop. I've tried and end up switching it off to be able to change lanes.... after a few times of wresting the steering from it, I found it is better to leave it off in moderate traffic. So here's the thing.... unlike the autopilot buddy, it does not stay in one place on the wheel. It will flip over from one side to the other when you turn the wheel.... so guess what is NOT left on the steering wheel all the time? Guess what isn't going to be used in town? But it will stop the every 30 second nags on a long trip such as our recent trip to the FL keys. Now if Tesla had a way to sense my "touch" on the wheel instead of my "torque" on the wheel, this thing would have never existed.

 

[OPRCE]

From ai4px:
"But it will stop the every 30 second nags on a long trip such as our recent trip to the FL keys."

But, my friend, it is precisely on long road-trips with AP that one is severely tempted to allow major distractions, e.g. checking SMS or Email, which is when Firetruck Super-Destruction happens (e.g. leading car steps aside at 70mph, presenting stationary target), which this thing greatly enables ... see recent post pondering such sobering scenarios: My evolving thoughts on autopilot

Hence, I sincerely recommend that when using AP you just keep one or both hands near the 6°clock position and a little weight on the wheel, and practically never get nagged. Then mount this invention on the office wall as a personal trophy to your own better judgement, before it leads to tears.

The game ain't worth the candle in this case ...

 

[Gridlok]

Absolutely mind boggling! My AP1 works perfectly, with my hand(s) on the wheel!

 

[Stiction]

AP1 works fine for me too.

Good luck. If you become a license aircraft pilot somehow, remind me
not to fly with you

 

[BikerPeaBody]

is this still a thing? or software V10 cancel all this out?