How is .40/.42 AP2 doing for you?

[buttershrimp]

Also, other thoughts:

1) Chill mode changes the aggressiveness of autopilot, which is a really cool development since it means we may have ways of customizing the feel of autopilot
2) Thinking through other potentially customizable features regarding autopilot, I think a likely feature of model 3 regarding the spacing/following distance may be controlled by steering wheel ball toggle (which would be extremely cool)
3) The other thought is that the easy entry is cooler than I thought... the neat part being when you press the brake, the car comes alive.... feels more like a luxury feature.

 

[buttershrimp]

rats... not quite there yet... here is video from tonight... much improved lane tracking through area I've never made it through with autopilot prior to this.... you'll see what I mean about car appearing at low speed at the end when i try to engage lane change

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Got .44. Week again so nothing much to report, I did catch a very brief AP2 segment yesterday evening, which was uneventful. Did not notice @buttershrimp's blind spot features, but then I didn't look for them and it was very brief. I like the other stuff, though, and tried it already.

.44 seems like a very welcome update so far.

Entry Mode works very well and is most welcome. I like it that I can adjust it as a I see fit, too.

Chill seems to be well implemented. Not sure I will use it personally, but really a nicely done feature at least on the P100D. It doesn't feel artificial or do anything unexpected, it is just more benign, and it is not too slow.

3) The other thought is that the easy entry is cooler than I thought... the neat part being when you press the brake, the car comes alive.... feels more like a luxury feature.

Yeah, it is nice. I missed it from my Audi A8. Of course Model X already does "come alive" in certain ways thanks to its doors etc., but it adds to the effect. Most importantly it is a good usability feature to have and it is nice that it can be adjusted, both steering wheel and seat...

 

[AnxietyRanger]

rats... not quite there yet... here is video from tonight... much improved lane tracking through area I've never made it through with autopilot prior to this.... you'll see what I mean about car appearing at low speed at the end when i try to engage lane change

I still think it is ultrasonic only for the blind spot detection, the same lowly system that AP1 had. Can't wait to get a camera-based one and would love big honking warnings then (when it can make more positive identifications), not just subtle waves on the IC...

The very narrow FoV EAP currenly has shows in how limited its other lane recognition is, the adjacent lane cars show only quite far in the front. Once it starts making use of those fisheyes and side cameras, it would be able to do so much more.

 

[daktari]

Made a short compilation of the lacking stability when passing a minor undulation, probably why they have this trigger for slope up/down. This is something AP1 handles a lot better (though not perfect).
Of course, with higher speeds, lot less comfortable. Speed in video in km/h.
With bigger slopes, bigger movement of wheel with chance of crossing lanes.
Hope some would try to recreate a similar video.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Quick report on 2017.46.8:

Leftward bias is still there on the route where it has always been, it is perhaps even more extreme than it used to be.

That said, IMO there is certain effortlessness in the way AP2 drives by now. It was pretty "forced" early on... If that means anything. It feels much more natural and less pushy on the wheel by now.

 

[Electroman]

AR always starts with a few negatives on some edge cases. Now I guess AP2 is so good he is forced to say a few good things.

 

[croman]

AR always starts with a few negatives on some edge cases. Now I guess AP2 is so good he is forced to say a few good things.

I actually find .46 to be a slight regression. It's a lot more swervy when it is not confident. .44 is my high point so far.

I think AR is just following up on his prior big gripe. I don't seem to have that issue but I find that .46 is less useful on local roads due to its casual take on swerving.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Nope on any intention here. That leftward bias bit is literally the first piece of motorway from my home to where I went on .46.8. @croman also got it right, that was a gripe I had made and thus thought useful to follow up on.

When AP2 is great, I will gladly say so. I am no @oktane about it. As said, I believe Model 3 will succeed and I do not believe AP2 will fail as a project (or is in as sorry a state) as some do.

That's my difference compared to a lot of folks.

Now, FSD... that's a different ball game. But some useful 8 camera driver's aid, definitely looking forward to that one day.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

You know guys, I think I need to make this point: I don't dislike my Model X. I like the car.

I want AP2 to do well, because I want to keep the car longer - because I want to keep those crazy doors longer, see.

 

[banned-66611]

I still think it is ultrasonic only for the blind spot detection, the same lowly system that AP1 had. Can't wait to get a camera-based one and would love big honking warnings then (when it can make more positive identifications), not just subtle waves on the IC...

Back in the 90s there was an arcade game called Daytona USA. On the screen you had a little box with your car in the middle, and dots for the other cars around it.

Ever since then I wanted that on a real car. Kinda like the 360 cameras but zoomed out more so it can be used while driving. Rather than the camera image some kind of schematic view, like the AP display, but overhead.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Quoting another report from another thread here. The AP itself was pretty OK in the snowy weather on a divided motorway, but the fun was extremely short-lived...

Regarding winter driving, I was testing my AP2 (2017.46.8) today on a highway in snowing weather - first time really with this car in this weather - just a pretty short trip and it seemed to be a bit less sure than usual, but OK. Until after maybe 3-4 minutes of driving the two red hands appear on the screen with an audio signal and both TACC/AP turn off.

My first thought is "did I miss hands on wheel nags" (both hands were on wheel but sometimes it misses that), but no, it reported Front Radar Visibility Reduced and kept TACC/AP off for the rest of the trip.

The front of the car looked pretty much like Bjorn's when I got home, less bad, but similarly covered... The lack of a heated front really seeming to "pay dividend"... The weather was nothing special, this really does not bode well for winter use? I've used adaptive cruise since 2006 or so and usually only one or two issues every winter... never on the first day of snow driving...

Bjørn Nyland on Twitter

You think something is wrong with his/her car, yet you had exactly the same issue yourself?

The problem we are discussing here is the Tesla radar placement behind a non-heated plastic bumper and the effects of that in winter conditions.

Radar placement which, incidentally, AP1 Model S does not have, but 2016 Model X does have (all Model Xs do). Your message is supporting the argument @AWDtsla is making. AP1 Model S has an exposed (well exposed with its own cover plate), heated radar. Model X / AP2 does not.

Ironically enough, Tesla probably chose the Model X / AP2 radar placement in part to avoid massed snow clogging up the AP1 radar. But in the process the denied the radar the ability to melt through whatever is in front of it.

I guess it makes California sense. Snow is the white sub-freezing stuff that blows around you like powder when you go up the mountain on a sunny day to go skiing and you catch some of it on the bumper navigating the parking lot.

The supercooled Norwegian spray is something else, building up like a plate of mithril in front of the radar signal, with nothing to melt it away.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Another short report on 2017.46.8 on a divided motorway, in non-snowing weather now:

I continue to think that the biggest step forward in recent versions, this one included, is how effortless the driving feels. It feels as if the car has a light touch on the driving - especially in good weather (it was not as smooth yesterday prior to slight layer of snow blocking the radar).

It feels confidence-inspiring as such. It doesn't feel like it is struggling to control the car, like some earlier, more heady-handed versions did, it feels almost like an invisible finger is gently guiding the car along. It also doesn't feel like you have to use serious force to override it anymore either, should the need be.

I like that about the recent versions.

 

[daktari]

My car still have challenges on slope up and down, and also some types of yellow lane markers which are not slick but dotted (they rumble if you get a wheel on them). Slopes are a bigger problem on local roads since they are steeper.
After 2017.46 3387 lane markers are so dirty from salt spray and dirty snow, making the car have huge difficulties and start excessive ping ponging. They need to train the NN on winter roads!
I would say the X from @buttershrimp seem to work a little better than my S, so can't stop thinking the higher camera position is a factor.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

After 2017.46 3387 lane markers are so dirty from salt spray and dirty snow, making the car have huge difficulties and start excessive ping ponging. They need to train the NN on winter roads!

Yeah, yesterday was kind of indicative of that for me. It wasn't that pleasant, until it shut down altogether due to the radar.

An interesting winter coming up, for sure.

In urban California, I expect smooth sailing and some rap.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

The snowing situation has been non-existent while driving lately, so nothing new on that front. Still on .46, not .50 either.

That said, the lane-keeping and TACC IMO are working very well on divided motorways. I think the steering continues to feel very "light" compared to the heavy-handedness of older versions, and I find myself trusting it more and more.

Also, the trick of @Pale_Rider to keep mostly one hand on the wheel has pretty much removed any nags (the resistance is sufficient that way, compared to two hands occasionally cancelling the resistance out too much).

So, good, steady progress on the lane-keeping side lately for divided motorways.

 

[CameronB]

Yes please - would love to see your dash cam vid if you get a chance.

Will (finally) do so soon. I just got an upgraded memory card - the one that came with the cam was annoyingly small and if I didn’t download footage it would usually be overwritten in about a half-hour more of driving. Made things inconvenient. Now I have a 128GB card and should be good.

Additionally, I have just purchased a small camera to aim at the dash binnacle while driving. So my plan is to do picture-in-picture, time-synced videos of what the dash cam sees and what is shown on the binnacle (especially wrt to line markings and whether the car does or does not cross the lane lines). That aux camera arrives this week and I’ll probably start making and posting the videos next week after holiday guests go home.

I am currently on .44. My success with “my S-curve road” described before is *mostly* good but there are still some occasional inconsistencies. The car doesn’t cross the lane lines per se but does hit the ‘bots dots’ sometimes on those switchbacks. If there was an oncoming car, I’m sure it would scare the s**t out of them, even if the car itself didn’t (much) intrude into their lane. It does this maybe 30% of the time. I think it may be speed related. If I am going the speed limit (25mph) it does better. If it’s going the offset (which lets it go 30mph), then it seems to do worse. But it still seems inconsistent even factoring in the speed.

I hope .50 will be better in that regard. Before I upgrade to .50 (or something later) I will get a good video of two or three runs at .44 and then be able to compare them more objectively.

 

[buttershrimp]