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Tesla replacing ultrasonic sensors with Tesla Vision

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Just like with radar and ultrasonics someone at Tesla dictated the removal of the IR in late 2016 and directed the engineers to fabricate a magic replacement in order to save a buck.
It may save a dollar, but I think the real motivation is that Tesla wants to be vision-only, and they are sticking to this as a matter of principal even though it doesn't work as well in some applications, like auto wipers and high beams. As their technology matures maybe one day the wipers will work better, but it's frustrating for now.
 
It may save a dollar, but I think the real motivation is that Tesla wants to be vision-only, and they are sticking to this as a matter of principal even though it doesn't work as well in some applications, like auto wipers and high beams. As their technology matures maybe one day the wipers will work better, but it's frustrating for now.
Wait. How do you think auto high beams work in other cars? They use either one or two forward facing cameras. The system has to detect headlights in the oncoming lane at distance. But it also has to the detect taillights of nearby vehicles in the same lane. All these systems use "vision".

The problem with the Tesla system is that the algorithm is garbage.
 
Hi,
We have a 2023 MY Shanghai built Model 3 Performance - with USS.
Interestingly - I reverse the car into my garage and the front of the car is just a few feet from the automatic roller door.
When I get in the car and put on my seatbelt and put it into drive - the screen is showing an object In front of the car (the garage door)
I then open the door with the remote control and wait for it to fully raise.
When I then move forward - the display is still showing the object in front of the car (‘which is no longer there) and even shows me getting nearer to it!
So - the existing USS already has some sort of “persistence of vision” function!
Cheers
Steve
When did you take delivery of the 2023 MIC MY Steve?
 
Wait. How do you think auto high beams work in other cars? They use either one or two forward facing cameras. The system has to detect headlights in the oncoming lane at distance. But it also has to the detect taillights of nearby vehicles in the same lane. All these systems use "vision".

The problem with the Tesla system is that the algorithm is garbage.
Thanks for the info. Now that you mention it, it does make sense that a camera would be required to discern headlights and tail lights from just plain bright stuff or reflections. So if they've got the required hardware, I wonder why their algorithm is so poor? I would have guessed that determining when to use the high beams would be a lot less complicated than autopilot.
 
Thanks for the info. Now that you mention it, it does make sense that a camera would be required to discern headlights and tail lights from just plain bright stuff or reflections. So if they've got the required hardware, I wonder why their algorithm is so poor? I would have guessed that determining when to use the high beams would be a lot less complicated than autopilot.
My guess is that auto high beams are a low priority for improvement, just like auto wipers.
 
When did you take delivery of the 2023 MIC MY Steve?
Took delivery on 1st November.
Car was actually built 09/22 according to door sticker.
Has a 2023 VIN number and is registered as a 2023 car on my registration document.
Was at a supercharger in Abu Dhabi yesterday next to somebody who received their Model Y at the same time.
This was also a 2023 model - but did not have ultrasonic sensors.
 
I have found auto high beams to work great lately. Wipers are another story. Part of the difficulty is that they are designed to work for the camera, not the driver.
Yep, that's the point a lot of people miss. The auto wipers only care if the view is clear for the camera, it doesn't care if the windshield is obscured. A lot of the actions make more sense if this is kept in mind.
And although many in this thread treat traditional rain sensors as if they are magic, they have a similar problem, where it only senses a small section of the glass.
Another issue is a lot of cars have sensitivity settings, something that if Tesla offered probably would address user preferences for how often to wipe for a given level of rain detected.
 
I still don’t see cost savings as a credible explanation for the removal - or for the timing of it at least. It’s such a trivial amount in the scheme of what it costs to build a car, and it leads to a direct loss of (as has been widely observed!) a very fundamental feature.

My interpretation is that this was always part of the roadmap but the timing has been forced by a shortage in supply of the necessary components. Rather than deal with the shortage as other manufacturers have they’ve decided to ‘fix forward’ and embrace it.

I hope they return the functionality with at least a similar level of performance soon. I wonder whether Tesla expected to have it rolled out already but have had FSD related delays that have blocked it.
Is that why the price cuts announced 2 days ago because the vehicles don’t have USS and probably will have in April?