Still Waiting for Elon's Blog Post on Autopilot Update...

[AMPUP]

Not trying to be selfish but I suppose I am not alone when my $100k+ X goes outdated after a few months if an affordable retrofit isn't available, especially with all of the SC service appointments I had to deal with ):

Am I the only one that feels that way?

This has been standard of Tesla for years, we had all types of upgrades that owners were upset about: folding mirrors, parking sensors, + package, new appliqué, changing bundled options... Etc etc.. It's sucks if you get caught in the middle of an change, but you knew what you were purchasing..

 

[Model S M.D.]

Couple of more EM zingers:

Of course, it’s not an ideal system. Elon was quick to make the point that he believes that there is no such thing as “perfect safety,” and that there will always be deaths and injuries on the road, since “the world is a very big place with a huge number of people and a huge number of circumstances.”

(At one point, he even brought up incidents of people dying by being strangled by bed sheets and crushed by vending machines, but noted that no one is trying to ban vending machines, so there’s that.)

Musk admits that it’s impossible to avoid every accident. “You have these rare events occasionally—they’re tragic—but to eliminate all of them we’d be limited to sitting at home on a pillow.”

 

[MikeKFE]

I have to do nothing more than grip the wheel in my S60D to make the nag go away.

Same here. It acknowledges even the gentlest of my caresses.

 

[Mickie]

but to eliminate all of them we’d be limited to sitting at home on a pillow.”

But what happens when the bedsheets strangle you while sitting on the pillow?

 

[malcolm]

If several cars drive safely past a given radar object, whether Autopilot is turned on or off, then that object is added to the geocoded whitelist.

So does this mean that if you're worried about Autopilot behaviour, you can drive a route a few times with it not controlling the car and it will learn the main features of that route?

I wonder if this goes on in all cars irrespective of whether the driver has purchased the Autopilot option.

Neat if true.

 

[Mickie]

I really hope the AP lockout only applies to 3 nags in a row, not 3 spread out over an hour's course.

I'm usually always being nagged to hold the wheel, even though I am, and have to give light torque. I probably register two dozen nags in the course of an hour, but never exceeded 2 in a row.

 

[andrewket]

Anything for the classics?

Additional depreciation?

 

[Mickie]

Additional depreciation?

Lmao, so bad...

 

[Canuck]

I really like Elon but the vending machine / bed sheets analogies are a bit much for me, unless the NHTSA was looking to ban Tesla's AP, but I thought:

Mark Rosekind, the head administrator of NHTSA, stated last week at a conference in Detroit that the auto industry and the utilization of Tesla’s Autopilot “can’t wait until it’s perfect.”

I have no concern with my bed sheets strangling me, and the high fructose corn syrup inside most vending machines is far more likely to kill me than the machine itself, but having a car drive me on the road causes me much more concern than both of those things, and his analogy to both of these type of accidents detracts from a much better argument that AP overall saves lives with very few exceptions, a point that he did make. But if wanted to use an analogy, the better one is wearing a seat belt. In some accidents you would survive by being thrown from a vehicle rather than wearing a seat belt where you end up trapped and dead. But does that stop of us from wearing seat belts? Of course not.

 

[malcolm]

Woohoo. Moose braking.

Technically, translucent moose braking.

I wonder how much of this stuff might appear on the future HUD?

 

[Model S M.D.]

I really hope the AP lockout only applies to 3 nags in a row, not 3 spread out over an hour's course.

I'm usually always being nagged to hold the wheel, even though I am, and have to give light torque. I probably register two dozen nags in the course of an hour, but never exceeded 2 in a row.

I am also hoping it means 3 nags in a row. However, the way it is worded sounds like he means 3 total nags in an hour...

 

[BobinBoulder]

Am I the only one totally disappointed with this announcement (especially two weeks late?!). Nothing so specific in in here that he couldn't have released two weeks ago when he said he would, and I was expecting a MAJOR UI announcement/change. This just feels like a "bug fix" release to me. "Fixed Autopilot Bugs" could have been the whole announcement . Am I missing something?

 

[Stoneymonster]

Am I the only one totally disappointed with this announcement (especially two weeks late?!). Nothing so specific in in here that he couldn't have released two weeks ago when he said he would, and I was expecting a MAJOR UI announcement/change. This just feels like a "bug fix" release to me. "Fixed Autopilot Bugs" could have been the whole announcement . Am I missing something?

Characterizing what they claim to have done with existing hardware as a "bug fix" is a little over the top. It's incredibly difficult and they didn't have to do it (most if not all car companies would have waited years and for new model hardware). So yeah I'm not with you here.

The focus of the blog post was AP, not 8.0. You will likely get UI improvements with both, but count me among those much more interested in AP improvements and innovation over cosmetic refreshes.

 

[brec]

Am I the only one totally disappointed with this announcement (especially two weeks late?!). Nothing so specific in in here that he couldn't have released two weeks ago when he said he would, and I was expecting a MAJOR UI announcement/change. This just feels like a "bug fix" release to me. "Fixed Autopilot Bugs" could have been the whole announcement . Am I missing something?

My summary of the whole announcement: Radar used to build dynamic 3D model of forward environment

 

[ronsbell]

Upgrading Autopilot: Seeing the World in Radar

Just posted.

 

[Saghost]

I haven't read the rest of the thread but after reading Elon's blog one worrying question comes to mind.

What if after fleet learning has reached to 100% and braking levels are at full power now, a new sign is added overnight and I'm the first ever Tesla to pass there? How are they going to prevent false braking for when the environment changes? With this model it seems like they never can't. Can anyone elaborate?

There's no way they can avoid this situation - there are cases where the camera doesn't detect it and they need to brake, and there are cases where the camera doesn't detect it and they don't need to stop.

So the only solution is what they're doing - build a white list, and then use drivers to populate it. Changes after the list is "fully developed" will result in the car braking until the driver overrides it in some fashion - possibly just hit the accelerator and the car takes the override?

I'm not sure exactly how the interface will work out - Tesla might have another approach for overriding in mind, or you might have to break out of AP entirely and re-enter.

 

[Saghost]

So does this mean that if you're worried about Autopilot behaviour, you can drive a route a few times with it not controlling the car and it will learn the main features of that route?

I wonder if this goes on in all cars irrespective of whether the driver has purchased the Autopilot option.

Neat if true.

Tesla has the data connection on all cars, and is using the camera and radar for the "Autopilot Safety Features." I have no doubt that all cars on firmware 8.0 or later with the sensor package will be contributing to the whitelist, whether the owner bought the AP package or not.

 

[TexasEV]

Not trying to be selfish but I suppose I am not alone when my $100k+ X goes outdated after a few months if an affordable retrofit isn't available, especially with all of the SC service appointments I had to deal with ):

Am I the only one that feels that way?

Would you rather Tesla stops improving so you can have the latest and greatest a little longer? Get over it. There's always something new just around the corner. If you wait to buy, you'll always be waiting instead of enjoying your a Tesla. In 2013 I could have had parking sensors if I waited a few more months. Everyone has a story like that. I'm not sorry I bought when I did as I've enjoyed the car ever since.

 

[Model S M.D.]

Just read this again, and I believe if you ignore the nag 3 times in an hour AP is disabled. Basically, if you get the nag and then do not hold the wheel, that is considered ignoring the nag. The nag itself might not count as one of those 3 events.

Via arstechnica:

From version 8, if three audio warnings are dismissed within an hour, Autopilot will be disabled until the car is parked. "Autopilot accidents far more likely for expert users; they get very comfortable with it and repeatedly ignore the car's warnings," Musk said, describing the way these drivers dismiss alerts as "a reflex action" and adding that Tesla's data shows that some users dismiss three warnings a minute.

 

[Electroman]

I have to agree with Musk on that. I am now so comfortable with AP, sometimes I don't even realize and dismiss the occasional nags just on reflex.