EV Trip Optimizer for Tesla (trip planning tool)

[gregd]

In case anyone is interested, there's a new trip planning tool being developed for the Model S/X which runs locally on your phone or tablet. There's no direct support for Roadsters (yet), but I found it does a reasonably good job at simulating the Roadster if you select the Model S/60, and override the default "90% range" to be your Standard Mode range * 1.084 (which is 90%/83%, with 83% being what I see as the standard mode charge limit). There are some other tuning knobs to dial things in, after you get some experience with using it.

What's intriguing about the app is that it includes factors such as weather, elevation change, and car loads (payload, cabin heat) in the model. When you add waypoints for charging, it suggests how long you will need to charge before departing. No model is ever perfect (or guaranteed!), but if I look back on some trips I took, it predicted the resulting battery SoC within a few %.

The app is called "EV Trip Optimizer for Tesla". There's a version for Android in the Play Store, and also for Apple. Digital Auto Guides is the author. I have no formal relationship, but I have been discussing the Roadster with the author, and will be helping him try to make it work for our wards. (No promise on time frame; he says it could be "a few months or so.")

Enjoy!

 

[essmd]

I was just looking at that app as I am planning a trip from Dallas to Memphis, with waypoints through Arkansas, which has no SCs and very little charging options.

This app really offers no benefit for me, at least for this trip, as far as I can tell given the lack of minimal non-SC charging support, even when I added in a Non-SC waypoint. It does show municipal charging locations, Nissan dealerships, etc but no fee-based ones where I know there are some.

PlugShare is more valuable, as is EVTripplanner (EVTP) even as a website.

Perhaps if EVTO imported some alternative charging resources such as from Plugshare, or even the Tesla Destination Charging locations, that may be more useful.

Hold the Phone, I just ran some scenarios

So I entered Dallas to Memphis, it returned a long out-of-the-way route which makes since since Ark has no SCs, and very little alternatives charging options.

Then I added Little Rock, Ar with a NEMA 14-50 as a waypoint (stopping point PRIOR to destination per my definition), which should work as I can make it to LR from Texarkana (per EVTripplanner and my vehicle navigation), but this just added L.R. as an additional point after my long route.

Plus, it only allowed for entry of the charger type at the destination (all typical options ie-SC, Chademo, J1772), as opposed to what charging type I could do along the way... makes no sense to me.

I may have taxed the functionality of the app, and for regular routes may be very helpful, so will continue to evaluate.

It's difficult to pay for the premium features when the basic ones are not helpful. This app needs much work to be really useful, so I hope they get on it.

If only EVTP was an app, it would be more friendly, but the formatted website does work well on a phone, as it does on the Tesla browser.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[gregd]

I was just looking at that app as I am planning a trip from Dallas to Memphis, with waypoints through Arkansas, which has no SCs and very little charging options.

This app really offers no benefit for me, at least for this trip, as far as I can tell given the lack of minimal non-SC charging support, even when I added in a Non-SC waypoint. It does show municipal charging locations, Nissan dealerships, etc but no fee-based ones where I know there are some.

PlugShare is more valuable, as is EVTripplanner (EVTP) even as a website.

Perhaps if EVTO imported some alternative charging resources such as from Plugshare, or even the Tesla Destination Charging locations, that may be more useful.

Hold the Phone, I just ran some scenarios

So I entered Dallas to Memphis, it returned a long out-of-the-way route which makes since since Ark has no SCs, and very little alternatives charging options.

Then I added Little Rock, Ar with a NEMA 14-50 as a waypoint (stopping point PRIOR to destination per my definition), which should work as I can make it to LR from Texarkana (per EVTripplanner and my vehicle navigation), but this just added L.R. as an additional point after my long route.

Plus, it only allowed for entry of the charger type at the destination (all typical options ie-SC, Chademo, J1772), as opposed to what charging type I could do along the way... makes no sense to me.

I may have taxed the functionality of the app, and for regular routes may be very helpful, so will continue to evaluate.

It's difficult to pay for the premium features when the basic ones are not helpful. This app needs much work to be really useful, so I hope they get on it.

If only EVTP was an app, it would be more friendly, but the formatted website does work well on a phone, as it does on the Tesla browser.

Just my 2 cents...

Do note that this is the Roadster forum, so I'll focus my experiences here for that car. The general features and MS/X discussion should probably occur in the MS Charging thread Announcing the EV Trip Optimizer for Tesla App since that's where the active development focus currently is. Also note I don't own an MS/X...

I had a bit of a time de-supercharging its route planning, too. This is something that will hopefully get better in the future, as it's not only Roadsters that can't use them, as you demonstrate. One thing to do is to go into "Filter Features" (towards the bottom of the planning menu), and turn off the chaDEmo and J1772 Combo level 3 items, unless you can use them. That should remove them from the map clutter, but it's still going to pull in the super chargers along the way. Just delete them; they'll stay deleted from future editing on that trip as long as you don't select "optimize trip". Turn on the "plug" icon at the bottom, and select the public chargers you want, and include them in the route. After deleting the SCs, I've found that including a charging waypoint along the path you want to take seems to pull the chosen route over to it.

I have also noticed that the database of public chargers is definitely lacking quite a few of the ones that show up on PlugShare. I added some of them manually, and marked them as favorites so they are easy to add as waypoints in the future.

Oh, I should also note that I'm still on version 1.1.2, as my tablet is annoyingly unaware that the world has moved on to 1.1.3.

 

[gregd]

In a separate discussion with the developer, he offered this as a best practice. I think that's basically what I ended up doing, but he describes it a lot better than I did above.

"When you make a new trip, before you press Calculate, select the Manual radio button first. Then it will just place the origin and destination on the map and do a quick routing between the two. Of course you will run out of energy and the destination push pin will be red, but now you can fill in your waypoints as you go. The app will automatically calculate and collect weather etc as you fill in. You can check the SOC tab to see how you are doing and how far you might need to place the next charger."

 

[essmd]

Oops, my mistake on not realizing I was in a Roadster forum...

BUT, regardless of what model of Tesla is being driven, the app has much improvement to be of value....

Besides, I know how to use the app, and the developer should take the valuable feedback, test out the issue as i have explained it, and make it better

Jiminy Christmas !!!!....Roadster, Model S, Model X... in the words of the One I am so happy is not our president...

"what difference does it make?"

I will now ban myself from the Roadster Forum....legendary vehicle but way to small for my butt

 

[aesculus]

So I entered Dallas to Memphis, it returned a long out-of-the-way route which makes since since Ark has no SCs, and very little alternatives charging options.

If you entered Dallas to Memphis as a trip and used Manual in the New Trip choice rather than Auto, you would get a direct route between Dallas and Memphis with no other stops and chargers. If you optimized it would figure out what superchargers were needed based on the car characteristics you configured one time in the My Cars item. It has to know what type of car you are driving.

Then I added Little Rock, Ar with a NEMA 14-50 as a waypoint (stopping point PRIOR to destination per my definition), which should work as I can make it to LR from Texarkana (per EVTripplanner and my vehicle navigation), but this just added L.R. as an additional point after my long route.

It should not have added this after your destination but prior and should have been used as a charger for charge time calculations.

Plus, it only allowed for entry of the charger type at the destination (all typical options ie-SC, Chademo, J1772), as opposed to what charging type I could do along the way... makes no sense to me.

You can make any waypoint a charging waypoint as you described above when you added Little Rock. Not sure why you stated you could only make the destination a charger.

Besides, I know how to use the app, and the developer should take the valuable feedback, test out the issue as i have explained it, and make it better

I love the feedback and any additional comments and suggestions you have. Even better when they come with the trip you are having issues with.

So for that look on the main menu for the Feedback Report. I will get back to you promptly.

 

[essmd]

If you entered Dallas to Memphis as a trip and used Manual in the New Trip choice rather than Auto, you would get a direct route between Dallas and Memphis with no other stops and chargers. If you optimized it would figure out what superchargers were needed based on the car characteristics you configured one time in the My Cars item. It has to know what type of car you are driving.

It should not have added this after your destination but prior and should have been used as a charger for charge time calculations.

You can make any waypoint a charging waypoint as you described above when you added Little Rock. Not sure why you stated you could only make the destination a charger.

I love the feedback and any additional comments and suggestions you have. Even better when they come with the trip you are having issues with.

So for that look on the main menu for the Feedback Report. I will get back to you promptly.

I appreciate the response, so i did exactly as you suggested..

If you entered Dallas to Memphis as a trip and used Manual in the New Trip choice rather than Auto, you would get a direct route between Dallas and Memphis with no other stops and chargers.


If you optimized it would figure out what superchargers were needed based on the car characteristics you configured one time in the My Cars item. It has to know what type of car you are driving. IT DOES, MODEL X 90D, Rear A/C



It should not have added this after your destination but prior and should have been used as a charger for charge time calculations.
I added L.R. as a waypoint, and selected a NEMA 14-50 charger, expecting it to give me charging time there to make it to Memphis, but as before, it added L.R. to the end of the trip.


HOWEVER, when I added L.R. as a waypoint PRIOR to optimizing, then optimized, I got this. which is the desired outcome.




So I charge $250/hour for Informatics Consulting, to troubleshoot software and make recommendations. I have just spent 30 minutes doing just that and provided an instructional solution.

I'd gladly settle for access to the Premium version, and provide future feedback as indicated.

 

[essmd]

Aesculus..

Tried to send you a feedback from the app, but it did not populate my gmail account email with your email address.

Please provide desired email and figure out why it did not work.

 

[aesculus]

HOWEVER, when I added L.R. as a waypoint PRIOR to optimizing, then optimized, I got this. which is the desired outcome.

The app worked exactly as it was intended to do. It does auto calculation after adding waypoints but not auto optimizing. This is to allow people to use the map in manual mode (which is exactly what @gregd is doing with the Roadster and others like to do too.

Without LR it had no way to go the route you wanted to go so when it optimized it went the north route using the superchargers. When you added LR it added it to the route you had previously optimized. It actually did not add it after your destination but went there first (maybe going right by it).

Then when you optimized after adding LR it saw a better direct route and removed the auto chargers from the northern route and gave you the prefered routing going through LR.

So I charge $250/hour for Informatics Consulting, to troubleshoot software and make recommendations. I have just spent 30 minutes doing just that and provided an instructional solution.

I fully appreciate the feedback. We are working on documentation and improvements to the UI to help users get the most from the app. Your experiences are invaluable, which is less than $250/hour.

Please provide desired email and figure out why it did not work.

I will note that g-mail did not auto pickup the To: address on the feedback form in our bug list.

The email to use is [email protected]. You can find contact info in the About panel.

 

[supersnoop]

"what difference does it make?"

Since the Roadster can't use super chargers, it's a pretty big difference.

 

[gregd]

Hi folks,

Remember this thread? Well, it's finally happened. EVTO v2.0 has been released, with native support for the Roadster. Both standard and sport, both batteries, and knobs to fine tune it to your and your car's driving personality.

The energy model is halfway close, but could probably use some tweaking, and I expect there are some UI things that aren't very Roadster-friendly (like how the climate controls are modeled). But, I think Chris has given it a good start.

Available in both Android and Apple versions.