MIT Tesla/Vehicle Technology Research

[jmanning]

JCL123,

Let me know if you have any questions. I have been in the study since the beginning and have had my Model S since June 2015.
Congrats and enjoy the drive. My email is [email protected]

 

[Ollie Jones]

I got my 90D instrumented by the AgeLab crew on Wednesday. It took them about four hours -- they say it takes five.

There's a camera on the right dash obliquely pointing at the operator's face.

There's another camera mounted on the right edge of the mic grille near the dome lights, pointing directly left. I suppose it sees how the operator is handling the steering wheel. It may, or may not, be able to see the "instrument cluster."

I'm told I need to stop by the institute when the hard drive fills up so they can swap it out. That's how they grab the data. So, it seems unlikely they'll be posting youtube videos like "Tesla Driver Picks Nose" or anything like that.

The cameras have sort of a nixon-era steampunk look to them (I'm trying to say they're ugly, and some people might think they have a retro chic to them.)

 

[Ollie Jones]

I'm participating in the MIT AgeLab study with my Model S. I don't mind the recording, especially since the experimenters at MIT have promised they'll expunge anything that turns out to be sensitive. They've had an Institutional Review Board check out their experimental protocol to make sure it respects the rights of subjects like me. The IRB of MIT is, in my estimation, one of the most trustworthy institutions in the USA in 2016.

Plus, I'm a proponent of open academic research. They're publishing everything they learn. Apparently they're working both with Tesla and the new Volvo driver assistance system. Here's some background. The Advanced Vehicle Technology Consortium (AVT) | MIT AgeLab So, count me in.

They apparently retrieve their data, most of it anyway, by swapping out a storage module. The scientist I'm dealing with at AgeLab told me she will call when they need to swap it, and I'll stop by for that.

I had the installation done on Dec 7th. It took them about four hours elapsed time. It would have taken less time except the notorious MBTA Red Line was stalled that day, and the person doing installations couldn't get to work.

Here are some photos of the equipment they installed.

Driver facing camera on the dashboard, and something between the rearview mirror and the windshield.

Steering-wheel facing camera, on a bracket tucked in behind the microphone grille between the dome lights.

The two cameras have faint blue LEDs in them, which I can barely see at night.

 

[Ollie Jones]

Here's a photo of the AgeLab junk in my trunk. They put it in the left-side cubby.