Tesla motors webpage

[Meikki]

First of all... Ive got my contract for a model s signature signed already, but I'm reluctant to send it off. I've got far to many questions left unanswered.
Teslas webpage is full of old photos, and no news seems to be posted. Whats the story of the interiors? I hear the seats are like a cadilac from the 70s. Anyone here who have tested the last version? What about the middle console? Is it there or not? Teslas official photos doesn't have what appears to be the last version. Is the touchscreen the only way to control all the functions. I like the idea, but handsfree is really the way all other car companies have been aiming- or at least easy accessible multifunction knobs. To work an iPad or iPhone whilst driving is actually not allowed where I come from. You get fined...
I bet the car drives like a dream, but I fear the dream ends there for the time being. From the webpage, 5 monhts prior to first deliveries one would expect them to have more detailed information- specially since they need pre- orders.

Someone out there who can help me keep the dream alive, and maybe even make me send the contract?

 

[Robert.Boston]

First of all... Ive got my contract for a model s signature signed already, but I'm reluctant to send it off. I've got far to many questions left unanswered.

I won't pretend to answer all your questions, but...

The website has been purged of all pre-Beta pictures of the S, so what you see is pretty accurate as to the exterior. The final interior has not been revealed, but my Tesla rep said that "if you take your glasses off, the interior will be essentially the same." Of course, I have pretty poor eyesight, uncorrected, so that allows for a lot of change...

With regards to the touchscreen and controls, all the essential controls are where you'd expect them to be. You won't use the touchscreen for the accelerator, brake, turn signals, cruise control, emergency blinkers, drive/reverse/neutral/park, and (I believe) basic audio system controls. Voice controls will be available for all other major functions.

I'm not sure what country you're in, but interacting with the Model S controls should not result in a fine, any more than tuning your current car's stereo should. Both are simply interacting with built-in car functionality. Any illegal functionality will be disabled while driving during Tesla's homologation of the Model S for your country.

I agree that I would have expected more "final" info by now -- we still don't have a list of standard features. And we still need to see the final interior. My advice, though, is to send in the reservation; the money is fully refundable, so if you don't like what you eventually see, you've lost nothing.

 

[AnOutsider]

Also, there will be voice command if I remember correctly, and there are steering wheel controls for the usual audio and telephony controls.

 

[smoothoperator]

Also, there will be voice command if I remember correctly, and there are steering wheel controls for the usual audio and telephony controls.

The voice command demo that I have seen by Elon (on the Tesla Site) uses google voice and was demo'd with slacker....Pretty sure it used a 3g connection. I wonder if the same technology will be used for HVAC etc....What will happen if there is no 3g connection available?

 

[Mycroft]

What will happen if there is no 3g connection available?

It won't work.

Both Google's implementation and Apple's Siri require Internet connectivity to function and it's highly unlikely that they would have the time and resources to install local functionality.

 

[Citizen-T]

Neither time nor resources are the problem.

It takes massively powerful supercomputers and huge databases to be able to do that kind of voice recognition. A Tegra3 and a couple GBs of local storage comes nowhere near being able to pull that off locally.

 

[smoothoperator]

Neither time nor resources are the problem.

It takes massively powerful supercomputers and huge databases to be able to do that kind of voice recognition. A Tegra3 and a couple GBs of local storage comes nowhere near being able to pull that off locally.

I had a Mercedes 6 years ago that had this capability and did not require internet connectivity

Mercedes-Benz Linguatronic System Explained - autoevolution

I think thats a huge design flaw if one needs to have internet connectivity to give a voice command to turn the a/c off etc.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

It won't work.

Both Google's implementation and Apple's Siri require Internet connectivity to function and it's highly unlikely that they would have the time and resources to install local functionality.

I'm pretty sure they'll have the now-decade-old limited voice command recognition tech in the car itself for the standard HVAC/audio/etc. operations.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Neither time nor resources are the problem.

It takes massively powerful supercomputers and huge databases to be able to do that kind of voice recognition. A Tegra3 and a couple GBs of local storage comes nowhere near being able to pull that off locally.

Although that is how Android's voice recognition and Apple's Siri works (they do both the speech-to-text and the processing of that text query online), it is by no means necessary to implement it that way.

Nor does it "require" supercomputers or huge databases, esp. if you restrict commands to a very simple subset (like voice commands for non-smartphones and some existing cars, like Ford Sync system or some GPS systems). Almost all use speech recognition software from Nuance Communications (including most cellphones, Ford Sync, even my own cellphone as an included offline voice recognition app that is powered by Nuance). This can all be done offline!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuance_Communications

 

[Mycroft]

This can all be done offline!

Agreed. However, in this brand new car, (like ACC and other technology that is otherwise currently available), I do not think they're going to implement local voice recognition. Of course, I could be wrong.

 

[vfx]

The 4S has caused massive increase in usage. Now cars might be constrained by that as well?

 

[gmontem]

Microsoft Voice Command has been in Windows Mobile phones for a long time now, and that never required a data connection. That was with devices that used 200 MHz mobile processors. Call me unimpressed if a Tegra 2's 1 GHz dual core processor is incapable of such feature! First, lag in the the web browser, and now this. Even the web browsing experience from a 1GHz single core 1st generation Windows Phone is more fluid than what I saw from the CES videos.

 

[AnOutsider]

Microsoft Voice Command has been in Windows Mobile phones for a long time now, and that never required a data connection. That was with devices that used 200 MHz mobile processors. Call me unimpressed if a Tegra 2's 1 GHz dual core processor is incapable of such feature! First, lag in the the web browser, and now this. Even the web browsing experience from a 1GHz single core 1st generation Windows Phone is more fluid than what I saw from the CES videos.

Don't take what someone said here as gospel. Siri is a far cry from basic voice commands which have existed for ages and do NOT require immense processing power. Additionally, the infotainment system is likely still under development, so judging performance of a preproduction device and it's accompanying software is equally unwise (we don't even know what hardware is powering the system in the alphas and betas).

 

[Todd Burch]

Even the web browsing experience from a 1GHz single core 1st generation Windows Phone is more fluid than what I saw from the CES videos.

You realize of course that the 17" display has around 4 or 8 times the number of pixels to push around compared to a mobile phone (maybe more--I don't know the exact resolutions)?

 

[dpeilow]

But not the tablet I am writing this on, which is way smoother than the phone in the same family.

 

[gmontem]

You realize of course that the 17" display has around 4 or 8 times the number of pixels to push around compared to a mobile phone (maybe more--I don't know the exact resolutions)?

6 times the number of pixels if the 17" display is indeed WUXGA resolution. If you are going to use fillrate as an argument, then the Tegra 2 or Tegra 3 GPU is much weaker than believed.