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FIRST PICTURES - Tesla Autopilot 2.0 ECU (Nvidia PX 2)

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lunitiks

Cool James & Black Teacher
Nov 19, 2016
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5,996
Prawn Island, VC
A bunch AP2.0-cars out, but not yet any pictures of the AP2.0-ECU.

So please be the 1st person to post images of the OEM Tesla Vision (Autopilot) 2.0 ECU "supercomputer".

99.9 % sure it's mounted in dashboard, above glove box (passenger side). You'll need to remove outer panels + glove compartment. A few clips, some screws and disengage glove box lighting. Check this video @21:40 for instructions:


Same location on S and X.

Would be extremely nice to verify (1) if it's liquid cooled, (2) which one it is of the Nvidia PX2 configs
 
I thought most companies prefer to place their autonomous computer system in the trunk:

audi%20autonom.jpg
 
Housing driverless system is quite a challenge for other companies but it seems so seamless for Tesla.

Ford has managed to replace their rotating LIDAR from the roof and placed LIDAR pucks to the sides.

mb_0223_1.jpg


However, their computer system is still so massive in the trunk that it requires a separate power generator.


mb_9295-2.jpg



It'll be interesting indeed to find out where Tesla has placed their system at.

If someone has a spare change, maybe you can pay for online documentations for service, parts, electrical diagrams...:

Welcome | Tesla Service
 
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Speculation. So I guess we'll have to wait and see :)
No, it was stated by Nvidia:
Additionally, the schematic shows liquid cooling.
Additionally, Nvidia implies that only the low-tier configuration is air cooled:
The scalable architecture is available in a variety of configurations. These range from one passively cooled mobile processor operating at 10 watts, to a multi-chip configuration with two mobile processors and two discrete GPUs delivering 24 trillion deep learning operations per second. Multiple DRIVE PX 2 platforms can be used in parallel to enable fully autonomous driving."
Regardless, multiple PX 2 units consuming total 500+ W would require an extravagant air cooling solution which would take up a large volume. Further as stated in the warranty, the car is rated for ambient temperatures up to 60C, so the air cooling solution would need to be especially efficient (i.e. higher airflow and surface area). So why bother when the car already has cooling circuits...
 
Hehe. I'm not at all disputing that Nvidia has built and sells a PX2 version that "needs" liquid cooling. Nvidias online bragging pictures and your YT vid shows exactly that.

However, neither Tesla nor Nvidia has confirmed anything about the cooling method of the PX2 that is mounted in AP2.0-Teslas.

Elon stated at his press conference at the AP2-release that the supercomputer in the AP2HW is capable of 12 trillion deep learning operations pr sec. That is only half the capability of the PX2 "For Fully Autonomous Driving" (24 DL TOPS). Namely, it's the capability of the PX2 "For Autochauffeur" - the mid version of Nvidias PX2 cards. Read for your self: Autonomous Car Development Platform from NVIDIA DRIVE PX2

And here's a pic of the air cooled version at a Korean CES 2016-demo:

nvidia_gtc_x_03_drivepx2.jpg


Anyway, no point in arguing over what boils down to pure speculations anyway, since no one has actually seen the thing.

So back to topic: .... crickets ....
 
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Well I think this is interesting, so I will speculate while we wait for the teardown. It was stated in the Nvidia presentation that it needs liquid cooling due to vehicles' wide operating conditions. A tech demo thrown together for a presentation is hardly evidence that the same chip can be put into a car with air cooing. There is enough evidence for me to place my bets on this.
 
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I received my AP2 car just before Christmas, after conversing with @lunitiks I noticed that there is a fan like noise behind the dash on the passenger side of the car.
Today I removed the small passenger side dash cover to take a peek inside:
2016-12-30 13.36.43.jpg


It was difficult to take pictures through the small openings, but there is a module there, its about an inch thick or so, and there seems to be at least one fan on the top of the unit:
2016-12-30 13.39.06 (Large).jpg

2016-12-30 13.37.24 (Large).jpg

2016-12-30 15.20.49 (Large).jpg
 
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