Info on Autopilot + v7

[wayner]

No discussion about that, sorry. As others point out, not much Tesla can do about those types of issues in the near future. I was keeping an eye on our main freeways through town last winter... they typically were clear (what I would expect would be needed for autopilot) within a couple days of most snow falls, and we don't get snow every day. Granted, it may be different in Toronto. I think I would be satisfied getting to use Autopilot 50%-75% in the winter, and would understand that the remainder of it, perhaps it is better that a person is in control - even just for ice and stupid drivers in the conditions.

Autopilot would be useful in Toronto at least 90% off the time in the winter. In Toronto the roads are typically cleared of snow within a day or two of snowfall. But on some streets you can expect snowpacked roads for a long time - and I thought that was even more frequent where there is no melting until spring.

I am thinking ahead to where there are more and more cars on autopilot which is supposed to lead to reduced congestion. Think of the chaos that snow will cause on those days when you can't use autopilot and everyone is used to always using autopilot - we will become like those places where the city shuts down when 0.25" of snow falls.

 

[Ugliest1]

we will become like those places where the city shuts down when 0.25" of snow falls.

You mean Victoria? I thought we had a fleet of snowplow once - but they may have sold it. (No, that is not meant to be plural)

 

[Max*]

I think people are putting too much weight on the autopilot and what it can/should handle.

The issue with snow needs to be dealt in full-autonomous driving (Level 4). I don't think even Level 3 has to handle snow, it just needs to allow the driver to give up control in most situations and give the driver ample notice to regain control.

Right now we're awaiting autopilot (Level 2). They have a long ways to go... (5-20 years, depending on who's estimate you rely on)

 

[kuttakamina]

Right now we're awaiting autopilot (Level 2). They have a long ways to go... (5-20 years, depending on who's estimate you rely on)

So 3 months time EST (Elon Standard Time) = 5-20 years in real people time? :scared:

 

[Max*]

So 3 months time EST (Elon Standard Time) = 5-20 years in real people time? :scared:

I know you're trying to be funny, but we were never promised AUTONOMOUS driving (5-20 years). We were promised AUTOPILOT (months, I hope).

ETA: I see how my structure made it look like the parenthetical emphasis was for the autopilot, not autonomous driving. My bad.

 

[kuttakamina]

I know you're trying to be funny, but we were never promised AUTONOMOUS driving (5-20 years). We were promised AUTOPILOT (months, I hope).
ETA: I see how my structure made it look like the parenthetical emphasis was for the autopilot, not autonomous driving. My bad.

Yup!

 

[AmpedRealtor]

In my opinion, Autopilot is a major lawsuit waiting to happen. And I'm not talking about the delay in releasing it.

 

[Chasedrgc1223]

The main thing about autopilot is that it's called "autopilot" for a reason. The primary reason for this is because it's a DRIVER ASSIST (much like how autopilot is on a plane) where the driver (or pilot) is still in overall control of the vehicle. This was in order to limit Tesla's liability into the issue, and from individuals I've talked to at Tesla, they have reiterated autopilot as being an advanced driver assistance rather than autonomy.

 

[Pollux]

I just wish they'd add a little wiper or something for the rear view camera so that the darned thing doesn't become useless for more than half the year in wet / snowy / slushy / muddy climates.

And they shouldn't obligate themselves beyond that anyway. After all, it's a visual system. It's a camera detecting the lanes. If the camera can't see lane markings, I don't see how people would expect lane keeping to work.

Snow on the ground? Heavy rain? Fog? Faint lines? Lots of extraneous pavement markings? Don't get your hopes up about lane keeping working in these situations. They don't in other cars, and won't in any car for a long time.

 

[mgboyes]

In my opinion, Autopilot is a major lawsuit waiting to happen. And I'm not talking about the delay in releasing it.

Why? There's no announced feature that isn't already shipping on a BMW or Mercedes. The S Class has had automatic highway lane keeping for 18 months, along with a load of collision avoidance, rear collision detection, blind spot safety etc stuff that even Tesla haven't said they're building. The BMW 7 series will park and unpark itself without a driver inside. And parallel and perpendicular Park Assist have been around for about 5 years and are now appearing as options on everyday family cars.

Autopilot is a fantastic bit of PR/branding wrapped around a load of features that (so far) is just playing catch-up with the Germans.

With self-steering they've even said that the Tesla Engineering team own an S Class and their benchmark is to better it for self-steering, which is as close to an admission as you can get that they're just implementing a better version of a feature that another car already has.

 

[Soolim]

With self-steering they've even said that the Tesla Engineering team own an S Class and their benchmark is to better it for self-steering, which is as close to an admission as you can get that they're just implementing a better version of a feature that another car already has.

What we don't know is whether they will beat it in this current autopilot (delayed) package or the future enhanced autopilot package (may be in MX?). I hope it is the former, then we would be all happy feeling that the delayed release is well worth it. :smile:

 

[steilkurve]

Why? There's no announced feature that isn't already shipping on a BMW or Mercedes. The S Class has had automatic highway lane keeping for 18 months, along with a load of collision avoidance, rear collision detection, blind spot safety etc stuff that even Tesla haven't said they're building. The BMW 7 series will park and unpark itself without a driver inside. And parallel and perpendicular Park Assist have been around for about 5 years and are now appearing as options on everyday family cars.

Autopilot is a fantastic bit of PR/branding wrapped around a load of features that (so far) is just playing catch-up with the Germans.

With self-steering they've even said that the Tesla Engineering team own an S Class and their benchmark is to better it for self-steering, which is as close to an admission as you can get that they're just implementing a better version of a feature that another car already has.

Nothing wrong with bettering what already exists. That's how companies like Apple transform categories. They make what is often clunky great.

 

[mgboyes]

Nothing wrong with bettering what already exists. That's how companies like Apple transform categories. They make what is often clunky great.

Agreed. But I don't think bettering Mercedes' self-steering function is going to open any floodgates towards legal action.

 

[travwill]

Nothing wrong with bettering what already exists. That's how companies like Apple transform categories. They make what is often clunky great.

Opinion 1: Autopilot will be a neat to have, not a need to have for most of us. Steering is something we have to always be prepared to take control of and the current implementation of lane departure false warnings with lines in road in most areas I've driven, in a major city on freeways, won't have me feeling like I trust it.

Off Topic on Apple: Apple sure is headed the way of less simplification now it seems with the feeling to always have something new. Honestly as a lot of articles have shown is that they are over engineering iOS to the point that its complicated and the simplicity selling point that always existed is going away. Tech is cyclical - and Apple won't remain king by all means. P.S. Carplay is horrible compared to Tesla's current OS/environment already.

 

[kuttakamina]

Off Topic on Apple: Apple sure is headed the way of less simplification now it seems with the feeling to always have something new. Honestly as a lot of articles have shown is that they are over engineering iOS to the point that its complicated and the simplicity selling point that always existed is going away. Tech is cyclical - and Apple won't remain king by all means. P.S. Carplay is horrible compared to Tesla's current OS/environment already.

Yup Apple is the new Microsoft. Good thing they lock the OS down so you can't actually see how bad it really is. Your 64gb iPhone is 20% full of temporary files if you've been doing iCloud backups for a few years and have migrated across a few phones. Also their markups on everything are just absurd. $100 for an extra 16gb memory? It should be 5 bucks, not 100.

Back to Tesla, given how ready autopilot is, I feel we will see update OS notification within a month. Can't wait. If nothing else that new UI looks far better and there are always new hidden nuggets to explore

 

[travwill]

Agree and agree. Can't wait for the first REAL update us newbies will get

That, and then a real good iOS update to the app before Winter will make me happy. I definitely just want to be able to warm up the car, defrost, and turn on the toasty steering wheel & seats before jumping in. I'll give you guys at Tesla until end of October for that one!

T

 

[Andyw2100]

That, and then a real good iOS update to the app before Winter will make me happy. I definitely just want to be able to warm up the car, defrost, and turn on the toasty steering wheel & seats before jumping in. I'll give you guys at Tesla until end of October for that one!

You may not realize it yet, but what you'll really want is the ability to warm up the battery pack independent of cabin heating, and without having to remember to turn range mode off. If they give us that, I don't care about the steering wheel. (That heats up pretty quickly anyway!)

Would you use battery heating if it were available?

 

[Cosmacelf]

Yup Apple is the new Microsoft. Good thing they lock the OS down so you can't actually see how bad it really is. Your 64gb iPhone is 20% full of temporary files if you've been doing iCloud backups for a few years and have migrated across a few phones. Also their markups on everything are just absurd. $100 for an extra 16gb memory? It should be 5 bucks, not 100.

The last time Apple was afflicted with the complexity disease was in the 1990s with MacOS. It got fixed when Steve Jobs came back to Apple. Not sure what's going to happen now. I agree, iOS is bloated and getting way, way too complicated.

 

[neroden]

I don't like the news of a lower-contrast screen and instrument panel. What possible good can come of that?

Hope they rethink the color scheme before delivery to keep it high-contrast.

 

[Cosmacelf]

I agree neroden.