VisibleTesla

[jpasqua]

In the not too distant future, there will be a variable called {{HT_SOC_G}}. That's short for HTML SOC Graphic. Whereas {{SOC}} spits out a number representing the state of charge, this will spit out some HTML that displays it graphically. This won't be exceptionally useful to begin with. It will just be used inside the web services Vehicle Status page.

Here's an example, if your SOC is 60% and your car is charging, then {{HT_SOC_G}} will generate HTML that renders like this:

 

[jpasqua]

Hey folks,

A user just pointed out that the {{SPEED}} variable is not automatically adjusting to the proper units. I looked at it and unfortunately I made a cut&paste error. This bug can affect you even if you don't use custom messages. The built-in messages now use the template mechanism behind the scenes. So, if you set up a "Speed Hits or Exceeds" notification, you'll hit this bug.

Sorry for the inconvenience. The fix is very simple but requires a new release so I'll get to it as soon as I have a chance.
Joe

 

[simonog]

Joe

I promised to feed back on the RHD car.

1. The iPhone app picture is of a RHD car
2. VT seems to be talking to the car just fine.

i will leave VT running tomorrow and see what the plotted journey looks like.

 

[Nhallwood]

Hi Joe, I also promised feedback - I tried to send you email but your server rejected my email. My message was as follows.

I've just taken delivery of my car last Friday and have connected successfully using VisbleTesla. Unfortunately, I did not have the app running when I went on a trip so have not yet collected any data, but other things seem to be working fine. It's difficult to tell if the image in the official Tesla app is RHD or not due to screen reflection (and size on the screen!) but it looks like it might be. A couple of questions:
1. is it possible to access trip data that is showed on the trip screens in the car
2. Is it possible to regularly poll the car during charging to build a charge curve etc?

 

[tliving]

Not sure if this has been asked for or is possible but I haven't found a way yet. Rather than email notifications i'd like to use the formats/options you have for email but have them append to a log file (which i'd keep in Dropbox). So save the data (like mileage) every day etc. Is that possible now or potential for the future?

 

[jpasqua]

- - - Reply to tliving - - -

Not sure if this has been asked for or is possible but I haven't found a way yet. Rather than email notifications i'd like to use the formats/options you have for email but have them append to a log file (which i'd keep in Dropbox). So save the data (like mileage) every day etc. Is that possible now or potential for the future?

Hi tliving,

It's not possible now, but you can export the detailed statistics using "File->Export Stats Data..." and/or "File->Export Location Data...". These will create an excel file with all of the information that VisibleTesla logs.

I will put the idea of exporting a log file into the enhancements list on github and look into it for a future release.

Joe

- - - Reply to Nhallwood - - -

Hi Joe, I also promised feedback - I tried to send you email but your server rejected my email. My message was as follows.

I've just taken delivery of my car last Friday and have connected successfully using VisbleTesla. Unfortunately, I did not have the app running when I went on a trip so have not yet collected any data, but other things seem to be working fine. It's difficult to tell if the image in the official Tesla app is RHD or not due to screen reflection (and size on the screen!) but it looks like it might be. A couple of questions:
1. is it possible to access trip data that is showed on the trip screens in the car
2. Is it possible to regularly poll the car during charging to build a charge curve etc?

Hi Nhallwood,

Congratulations on your new Model S!

1. Unfortunately it is not possible to access trip data stored by the car or by Tesla's servers. I can only access information in real time while the trip is happening.
2. You can look at your charge curve in the Graphs tab. Charging data is captured as long as the app is awake. If the app is in "Allow Sleep" mode but happens to notice that the car is awake and charging, it will begin to capture charge information. Check out "Understanding Sleep Mode" in the docs. You can view information like charge voltage, current, and rate of charge in the Graphs tab. You can also export that data to an excel file using File->Export Stats Data...".

BTW, I just tried sending to my email address and it seems to be working. If you have trouble sending to:

Would you please send me a private message through the forum and let me know the error you are receiving? Thanks.

Joe

- - - Reply to simonog - - -

Joe

I promised to feed back on the RHD car.

1. The iPhone app picture is of a RHD car
2. VT seems to be talking to the car just fine.

i will leave VT running tomorrow and see what the plotted journey looks like.

Thank you simonog. If you'd be willing to send me a screen shot from your iPhone app, I would greatly appreciate it. You take a screen shot by holding down the power button on the top of the phone and then pressing and releasing the home button. You'll hear the camera sound and a screen shot will appear in your camera roll.

You can email it to

Best,
Joe

 

[jpasqua]

VisibleTesla at TMC Connect

Some of you may have noticed that I am now listed as a speaker at TMC Connect in Monterey. I'll be talking about VisibleTesla and I'd like to get your input on the session (whether you're attending or not).

• What would you like to hear?
• What do you think new users would be interested in?
  • I'll spend some time demoing VT in action
• Are you interested in how it works?
  • At the conceptual level?
  • At the code level?
• Should we have time devoted to discussing potential new features? I'd love to get input on potential collaborative features. For example, aggregating and analyzing anonymized vampire loss data.
• I will give pointers to other software such as teslams

I want to make the session as worthwhile as possible so I appreciate your input. I look forward to getting a chance to meet some of you, whether it is during the session or during the rest of the conference.

Joe

 

[ZBB]

Joe -
Looking forward to meeting you at Connect...

i would suggest part of the session focus on feedback from users. Similar to your thoughts on upcoming features, but what other ideas do the users have. I bet there are some that haven't been requested in this thread (I have one that I haven't had a chance to post). Could be a good sounding board for you...

 

[jpasqua]

A number of you have reported problems in which trip data stops being recorded. This has been very difficult to debug because it's difficult to reproduce. Several people have sent me log files - thank you! They've been helping me rule out various potential problems. I just found a situation where an error from Tesla's server could cause part of the data collection mechanism within VisibleTesla to hang. I'm testing a fix now, but it usually takes several days before I experience the server error. As a result, it will be a while before I know if the fix works.

I'm hopeful that this will improve the situation and provide more robust operation. I'll keep you posted.

Joe

 

[jpasqua]

Joe -
Looking forward to meeting you at Connect...

i would suggest part of the session focus on feedback from users. Similar to your thoughts on upcoming features, but what other ideas do the users have. I bet there are some that haven't been requested in this thread (I have one that I haven't had a chance to post). Could be a good sounding board for you...

Good idea, thanks. See you there.

 

[Go4IT]

Some of you may have noticed that I am now listed as a speaker at TMC Connect in Monterey. I'll be talking about VisibleTesla and I'd like to get your input on the session (whether you're attending or not).

• What would you like to hear?
• What do you think new users would be interested in?
  • I'll spend some time demoing VT in action
• Are you interested in how it works?
  • At the conceptual level?
  • At the code level?
• Should we have time devoted to discussing potential new features? I'd love to get input on potential collaborative features. For example, aggregating and analyzing anonymized vampire loss data.
• I will give pointers to other software such as teslams

I want to make the session as worthwhile as possible so I appreciate your input. I look forward to getting a chance to meet some of you, whether it is during the session or during the rest of the conference.

Joe

Joe,

While I won't be there to attend (very unfortunately BTW) as I am located in Europe, I think your achievment with VT is the best channel Tesla can have with its educated and connected user community. Throughout this conversation and many others, I have seen many requests about being able to do more using VT or any mobile app. The best example is setting the charge current remotely which is not possible currently because of limitation on the Tesla side. Seeing your oustanding release rate (compared to that of the official Tesla app...), it seems to me that you are the best spokesman for this. So I would suggest you use part of your presentation time to consolidate all these requests, structure them so that the user group can go to Tesla with justified and legitimate requests. Interacting with the car is mostly on the monitoring end at this stage ; I would expect more interactions ranging from very simple stuff such as being able to change the wheel type on all displays (VT, mobil apps, onboard displays) using VT instead of a (billable) visit to a nearby SC (if there is one) to more complex actions such as setting the charge current remotely. I am sure there are 00's of such ideas.

Do you think this is achievable?

Good luck and thanks for the good work !

Pierre

 

[dsm363]

Some of you may have noticed that I am now listed as a speaker at TMC Connect in Monterey. I'll be talking about VisibleTesla and I'd like to get your input on the session (whether you're attending or not).

• What would you like to hear?
• What do you think new users would be interested in?
  • I'll spend some time demoing VT in action
• Are you interested in how it works?
  • At the conceptual level?
  • At the code level?
• Should we have time devoted to discussing potential new features? I'd love to get input on potential collaborative features. For example, aggregating and analyzing anonymized vampire loss data.
• I will give pointers to other software such as teslams

I want to make the session as worthwhile as possible so I appreciate your input. I look forward to getting a chance to meet some of you, whether it is during the session or during the rest of the conference.

Joe

Great! Looking forward to it.

I would be interested in some of the technical background and how you figured all of this out and managed to get it to work so well. I wouldn't understand most of the highly technical details but I'm sure many there would. Could always save some of the finer details for Q&A at the end. I think new users would like to see your demo, how you use it and what you think some of the best features are. I'm more interested in how it works at a conceptual level.

Also, I think covering the security like you do in the FAQ and talking about how entering your Tesla login information is still secure would be great.

I think taking time to discuss potential new features would be great too. Thanks.

What does it take to become an 'identified developer' from Apple? I assume you have to pay them a lot of money so not worth it, just curious.

 

[ZBB]

What does it take to become an 'identified developer' from Apple? I assume you have to pay them a lot of money so not worth it, just curious.

$99 per year... Apple Developer Programs - Apple Developer

 

[Bugeater]

Thought I can't make it this year, I'd like to see folks suggest things that Tesla should add to their remote interface. For instance, allowing you to roll the windows up remotely as well as see their current state. Then you and other folks from TMC send those suggestions to Tesla! I'd even sign an online petition if there was one. That way we could put real pressure on them. [8^)

 

[Greyson]

@Bugeater I'm with you on this -- my #1 desired feature is to have the Tesla app intercept addresses. Imagine clicking an address on your phone, it prompts to "open with..." [Google Maps, MapQuest, Tesla] and when you push it through the Tesla app, the car begins navigation to that address. Totally killer feature when I'm checking a meeting invite (with address) on my way to the car.

 

[jpasqua]

Great! Looking forward to it.

I would be interested in some of the technical background and how you figured all of this out and managed to get it to work so well. I wouldn't understand most of the highly technical details but I'm sure many there would. Could always save some of the finer details for Q&A at the end. I think new users would like to see your demo, how you use it and what you think some of the best features are. I'm more interested in how it works at a conceptual level.

Also, I think covering the security like you do in the FAQ and talking about how entering your Tesla login information is still secure would be great.

I think taking time to discuss potential new features would be great too. Thanks.

What does it take to become an 'identified developer' from Apple? I assume you have to pay them a lot of money so not worth it, just curious.

Good ideas. Thank you.

I am a registered Apple developer. I haven't done the work yet to sign VisibleTesla, but it's on my list. Who knows, maybe if I procrastinate on enough chores around the house, I'll have a chance to look into it this weekend

See you in Monterey,
Joe

----- UPDATE -----

Well, my office is still a mess, but the next version of VT will be signed. That is, it will be from an "identified developer" - me.

 

[Bugeater]

@Bugeater I'm with you on this -- my #1 desired feature is to have the Tesla app intercept addresses. Imagine clicking an address on your phone, it prompts to "open with..." [Google Maps, MapQuest, Tesla] and when you push it through the Tesla app, the car begins navigation to that address. Totally killer feature when I'm checking a meeting invite (with address) on my way to the car.

Yea. Like that idea a lot! One thing very lacking on the Tesla Console Nav is the ability to touch an arbitrary point and set a marker that you can then navigate to. Or better yet, login to gmaps and see all your personal markers.

 

[jpasqua]

VisibleTesla 0.28.00 - 4th of July Edition

VisibleTesla 0.28.00, an experimental release, is available now. Mac and Linux users can use the "Help->Check for Updates" menu item or download directly from the appropriate link below. Windows users: Don't use the "Check for Updates" mechanism for this release. Use the link below. There was quite a bit of work done relating to the way the app is packaged. It is now a "signed" application on the Mac, and the Windows version comes with a bundled copy of Java to alleviate installation headaches and some security concerns. This version is labeled as experimental primarily due to these packaging changes. A lot of small things changed and though I tested on Mac, Windows, and Linux, something may have fallen through the cracks.

Downloads:

• Mac
• Windows
• Linux (Generic)

VisibleTesla 0.28.00 [07-05-2014] - [EXPERIMENTAL]

Important note for Windows users: Windows users should not use the built-in Update feature to download this version of VisibleTesla. Please download it directly by clicking here and then install as usual. This is a one-time change based on the new packaging of the Windows version (see below).

• User-Visible Changes
  • General
    • Addition: Starting with this release, there is now a Windows-specific zip file. It contains a complete Java Virtual Machine that is known to work with VisibleTesla. This should reduce the number of installation headaches that arise for Windows users. There is still a generic zip file which is primarily for use on Linux. It is recommended only for users who are familiar with installing and using Java applications.
    • Refinement: The Mac bundled application is now signed! That means you can be assured that the application you're running hasn't been tampered with since it left the hands of the identified developer (me). There is more about this in the FAQ.
    • Refinement: Added additional fields to the web-based status page including the graphical battery gauge and odometer.
    • Refinement: The Help→Documentation menu item now brings up the online documentation rather than a local copy.
    • Refinement: The documentation has been updated to reflect the changes to the install process for Windows.
  • Login
  • Overview
  • HVAC
  • Location
  • Charge
  • Graphs
  • Trips
    • Refinement: There are situations where VisibleTesla will stop recording data from the car. This can result in gaps in the Graphs and missing Trips. It can also, in some cases, lead to VisibleTesla not quitting cleanly. I found one case in which an error returned by Tesla's servers can cause this to happen. I've put in a tentative fix for that case, but there may be more circumstances like this lurking out there. As a result, I've listed this as a refinement rather than a fix. After getting more feedback from users who experience this problem regularly, I'll know whether it addressed all, none, or some of the issue.
  • Scheduler
  • Notify
    • Fix: A bug crept back into notification messages that caused speed to be reported in the wrong units in some cases. That has been addressed.
    • Refinement: Added new variables for custom messages {{HT_SOC_G}}, {{HT_ODO}}, and {{ODO}}. For details, please refer to the documention on the Notify Tab.
  • Prefs
• Under-the-covers
  • Removed the "stub" Mac application.
  • Changes to the build scripts:
    • Added a build target (package-win) for a Windows-specific zip file.
    • Added a build target (package-generic) for a generic zip file suitable for use on Linux.
    • Added a build target (package-mac) that builds the Mac bundled application and then creates a zip file from it. This is used in preparing releases.
• Known problems
  • There are situations where VisibleTesla will stop recording data from the car. This can result in gaps in the Graphs and missing Trips. Debugging and testing is ongoing to address this problem.
  • The "Help->What's New" menu item is broken. For the time being please use the "Help->Documentation" menu item and then click on "Release Notes". Alternatively, you click here.

 

[maxwells]

Thanks for the update. Great work on the app. Have you thought about running it as a webapp for multiple users so people can turn their machines off without losing data?

 

[jkliu47]

@ jpasqua, fyi the link to download from the VisibleTesla 0.28.00 release notes (linked from Checking for Updates' in 0.27.03) resulted in Chrome blocking the downloaded file VisibleTesla.zip noting it is malicious.

I am updating to v0.28.00 from the download linked from this thread.