Firmware ver 7 - additional hardware needed?

[brucet999]

In the 6.2 press conference, Elon referred to complete autopilot capability tests between SF and Seattle, the results of which would be released in version 7, due by end of this year, perhaps. Does anyone know whether version 7 capabilities will require further hardware changes, therefor making them unavailable to current production cars?

 

[ecarfan]

I think it was at the D and Auto Pilot reveal last fall where Elon stated that there would be no major hardware changes to the Model S in 2015. I interpret that to mean that any new firmware releases in 2015 with new features will use the existing hardware and will not require any new hardware. Which means to me that the V7 release with Auto Pilot coming later this year will use the hardware that has been standard on all Model S produced since late September 2014.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

During Elon's recent on-stage QA session with the Nvidia CEO, he said that the current sensor suite is not sufficient to allow for driving on city streets at 30 MPH where there are children, small animals, and other objects coming at you. The current suite is fine for ACC, freeway lane keeping, etc., but new sensors would be needed for autopilot or limited autonomy in an urban setting.

Here is the link:

GTC 2015: NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang Interviews Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk (part 9) - YouTube

 

[Saghost]

In the 6.2 press conference, Elon referred to complete autopilot capability tests between SF and Seattle, the results of which would be released in version 7, due by end of this year, perhaps. Does anyone know whether version 7 capabilities will require further hardware changes, therefor making them unavailable to current production cars?

I thought it was fairly clear that the current generation of "Autopilot capable" cars built since September were the ones receiving autosteering in version 7 in "three months or so." (But that's Tesla time, so who knows?)

Elon was just trying to limit expectations by pointing out he doesn't ever expect that sensor suite (and therefore those cars, unless they can give a hardware upgrade,) to handle city streets. What they're planning for later this year is for country roads and freeways.
Walter

 

[whn]

In case any Hardware Upgrades are needed, does Tesla already has an upgrade policy?
Will this Upgrades be done by a service Center?

Wilfried

 

[TTT]

Where does this put auto parking? Both parallel and in garage?

 

[Saghost]

In case any Hardware Upgrades are needed, does Tesla already has an upgrade policy?
Will this Upgrades be done by a service Center?

Wilfried

Too many unknowns at this point. Tesla has generally been fairly willing to upgrade, for a price (which has sometimes been quite substantial.)

However, there have been other cases where they said they wouldn't do it, including some that weren't technical nightmares but did affect their image/business case (60->85 battery, for instance.)

Without knowing what new hardware might be involved, we can't even speculate what position Tesla will be taking on upgrading it.
Walter

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Where does this put auto parking? Both parallel amd in garage?

It sounded like those are likely to be version 7 features, but I don't think that was explicitly stated.

 

[scottm]

Did we buy these cars to have them drive themselves?

Hell no! Don't care if that ever comes.

Autoparking may be an attractive demo, and useful for a limited few who can't park themselves. But for the masses, meh.

Move along....

 

[Johan]

In case any Hardware Upgrades are needed, does Tesla already has an upgrade policy?
Will this Upgrades be done by a service Center?

Wilfried

The answer is "It depends". Jerome Guillen was asked about the same thing regarding 2013 cars and retrofitting the current autopilot hardware. The answer was it wasn't something Tesla would offer since it would be so much work that it would never be economical (you'd be better off buying a new car basically).

 

[whn]

Johan,

I'm exactly trying to discover wether it's possible to get features like:

1. Cross Traffic Alert (rear)
2. Frontcamera (no dashcam) mounted in the front grille to see "around the Corner" before you see cross traffic with own eyes. This comes in handy in old cities with old narrow streets.
3. Night Vision

as dealer installation after purchase because Tesla doesn't seem to offer them factory installed.

All hardware must be fully integrated and interacting with the Tesla monitor, additional screens including monitor in the rear mirror are not acceptable (at least to me).

Before we decided on a new Tesla 85D I was interested in the usual suspects like Audi, BWM, MB and Lexus GS 450h. All of them are providing these features factory installed as an option.

Wilfried

 

[skilly]

Where does this put auto parking? Both parallel and in garage?

its noticeably overlooked in the discussions. Perhaps because TM is lagging at least 5 years behind as compared to all the other luxury brands in this arena. Audi, BMW, MB, Lexus, Infinity...even other domestics like Cadillac.

 

[1101011]

In case any Hardware Upgrades are needed, does Tesla already has an upgrade policy?
Will this Upgrades be done by a service Center?

Wilfried

In several posts, it has been noted that the extra sensors, making TACC and lane awareness possible (and used as the basis for autopilot and self parking), are not economically possible as a retrofit. Wiring for the sensors was added to the Model S at some point in September 2014.

 

[castor]

In case any Hardware Upgrades are needed, does Tesla already has an upgrade policy?
Will this Upgrades be done by a service Center?

Wilfried

They will buy your car and sell you a new one.
The number of sensors is too little even for autonomous lane change, I read the ultrasonic sensors have about 100ft range which is not enough for an autonomous lane change and require user assistance, tapping on the turn handle and basically delegating some responsibility to the driver. (Can’t detect someone coming substantially faster than you in a different lane)
The car needs probably another 20 or 30 sensors of different kind for autonomous driving on regular streets, I would not expect anything like this happen before 2018 and substantial upgrades to the currentsensors on the newer models.