Watch This Tesla Drive Itself at the Press of a Button [video]

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/10/watch-this-tesla-drive-itself-at-the-press-of-a-button/?ncid=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=FaceBook

by prateekj • 12 years ago

79 46 12 years ago

techcrunch.com

MPSimmons• 12 years ago

That acceleration is a bit like a roller coaster that you can drive.

zaroth• 12 years ago

Truly not far from it... 0 - 60 in 3.2s = .85g

hauget• 12 years ago

That looks amazing! But, if someone "gets funny" and paints a 25mph sign as 55, then what? Any countermeasures for this?

goatforce5• 12 years ago

What would a human do if they saw a 25mph changed to say 55mph?

mkaziz• 12 years ago

If you see a crazy curve ahead, you would slow down

ceejayoz2• 12 years ago

"That doesn't seem right", probably.

We have a 55 mph zone near our house that anyone not from the area seems unable to believe (as it's a narrow, fairly winding two-lane road) and you get stuck behind them puttering along at 35 for a few miles.

pyre2• 12 years ago

You're driving along a road. The signs all say that the limit is 55mph. You pass a sign that says "55mph ends." Now what?

[Note: The route to a friends house years ago did exactly this as you got away from developed areas.]

ceejayoz2• 12 years ago

I had a Tom Tom about 5 years ago that knew the speed limit on major roads. I'd imagine Google et. al. are collecting that data even if it's not publicly available in their mapping APIs yet.

pyre2• 12 years ago

How do you think that they can predict route times? It might not be part of the UI, but I'd wager they've had the data for a long time. The accuracy of the data, though, might be a reason that they don't present any of that data as fact.

runeks2• 12 years ago

I'd imagine Google et. al. are collecting that data [...]

They are. All phones who have Google Maps installed, and have enabled reporting (anonymous) position data (might be default on some phones) are helping Google both see if there's a traffic jam somewhere, and see what the actual driving speeds on the roads are (by sampling at a certain interval and seeing distance traveled over time).

I happily contribute to this, I think it's a great idea to crowd-source traffic data. I do hope Google makes the data publicly available though.

Gustomaximus• 12 years ago

Nokia maps did this. Also you could set a speed limit warning at your preferred limit, usually about 10% above for me. It was quite handy on long drives.

jerf• 12 years ago

The sort of AI necessary to drive a car is not like conventional programming code. You already can not simply blindly trust a sign. As a human you're so used to converting bad signs into something meaningful or ignoring them, but it's just part of the base problem of driving, not some sort of special problem. The sign is merely one of a constellation of inputs already coming in, already contradictory (speed limit is 55, traffic is driving 65, road conditions should only be permitting about 35, what do you do? etc.).

maxerickson• 12 years ago

A similar situation that impacts humans is someone getting funny and removing a stop sign. I guess the traditional countermeasure is to restore the sign.

danielweber2• 12 years ago

Oops, I read this backwards.

The car should use the minimum speed limit from its set of stored speed limit signs, rules about local roads, and what it sees. If the car sees a speed limit sign that's "too high," it should call back to the mothership for a proper investigation (by the autodrive maker or the local police or both).

OLD POST (where I got your situation reversed):

It _should_ drop to 25 mph, because maybe someone in authority put a real 25 mph sign there. Then they should investigate who did that.

The countermeasure would be to take over the wheel.

The eventual countermeasure would be to have the speed limit sign broadcast its number over radiowaves, which is of course still something people can mess with, but requires a higher bar than a can of glue.

runeks2• 12 years ago

Someone should try making a sign that says

    () { :; }; /usr/bin/media_play 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ'

danielweber2• 12 years ago

http://gizmodo.com/5498412/sql-injection-license-plate-hopes...

higherpurpose• 12 years ago

Maybe signs of the future should also have a QR code next to them for the real speed, just in case someone modifies the painted one. If they mess with the QR code too, then it should give a warning or something.

ghshephard• 12 years ago

Sign the Speed Limit tangled with the GPS coordinates of the sign with a private key of the state. Place both the signature, GPS coordinates, and speed limit in the QR code.

dave1619• 12 years ago

I did a test ride of a P85D last night. It was breathtaking. The car explodes (silently) of course like a rocket. It feel much, much faster than a regular P85. Here's the test ride I took: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm5CQZalLg8

It's difficult to explain in just words how fast 3.2 seconds is and I had a difficult time grasping it myself until I actually sat in a Tesla P85D and experienced it going from 0-60 in a blazing quick three seconds. It felt like a completely different (and much quicker) car than the previous single-motor P85. The car accelerates so quickly with so much force that I found myself in disbelief and awe. Tesla truly engineered an amazing new version of the Model S.

This new dual-motor version of the Model S is available to order in the performance version and will be available in the 60kwh and 85kwh version vehicles in February. Overall, having an AWD dual-motor version expands the appeal of the Model S to more market segments, especially those in colder areas. And the addition of a dual-motor performance version catapults the P85D into the realm of a true super car.

Also in an unexpected and shocking move, Elon Musk announced Tesla's Autopilot hardware at last night's event. Most people were expecting some trivial driver assist features like lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control. Further, in previous interviews Elon had alluded to Autopilot being ready by the end of 2015. But in last night's announcement, Elon outlined a 4-part Autopilot system that would allow for driving to become increasingly autonomous over time.

The Autopilot system comprises of cameras, radar, sonar, and gps/navigation integration. At first, the system will allow for drivers to use Autopilot to keep in one's lane and to slow down or speed up depending on objects in front. Over time with software updates, Autopilot will allow for full autonomous driving from freeway on-ramp to freeway off-ramp. Autopilot will also allow for the car to be able to park itself or even for it to be summoned by the owner.

In my test ride last night in a P85D, there was a brief section where we were able to see the car drive itself autonomously. The car followed the roads as it curved and also adjusted for speed limits. It also managed to change lanes by the driver just turning the signal light on. It was quite impressive.

What's further impressive is that Autopilot is a feature that is now added on to the Tech Package at an additional minimal cost (new Tech package costs $4250 vs old Tech package costed $3750). This is a great deal and will make the car even more appealing to more people.

Here's the official video from last night's presentation by Elon regarding dual-motor and Autopilot. The Autopilot description is especially interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ6lZJWL_Xk

(ps, for those interested I curate a weekly email newsletter called Tesla Weekly, http://teslaweekly.com, with the latest news regarding Tesla)

jmtame• 12 years ago

I ride a GSXR 600 and it has the same 3.2 sec 0-60. It still rattles me every time I push it that fast. I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around how they can replicate that experience inside of an _electric_ car. Can't wait to test drive it :)

semerda2• 12 years ago

Bike vs Car acceleration feels different on the driver but I echo your views. Cars have the advantage of back support which essentially feels like a plane taking off - pinned & safe. And if you have a bucket seat then it's more fun round the corners while the adrenaline rushes. The P85D would be a great track car!

agumonkey3• 12 years ago

I thought you were talking about another car. Then I reread he model number. Now we all have a (very telling) comparison point.

azernik• 12 years ago

Electric vehicles' strong suit has always been high acceleration. I know a motorcycle fan who tried out a high-powered electric cycle, and even with some serious power limiters it was still much more of a kick when accelerating up to high speed than anything gas-powered could pull off.

Florin_Andrei2• 12 years ago

Yeah, first time I hit the powerband on the sportbike I almost fell off it. I remember it very well, even though it was years ago. The power/weight ratio is staggering.

I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around how they can replicate that experience inside of an _electric_ car.

Your gixxer (and my poor, now deceased, ninja) could only do it because these are vehicles not much heavier than 2x the weight of the owner. Insane power/weight ratio will do that for you.

But their engines, like any internal combustion engine, suck at low speed. Have you seen the dyno curve for torque? It's really low at first, and only then starts climbing, and climbing, and climbing.

An electric engine gives you maximum torque at any speed. Now imagine that on your sportbike. ;) When technology is more mature, all electric engines will run circles around internal combustion, on the 0-60 track.

spullara• 12 years ago

All the latest super cars breaking records using electric motors. The fastest car Car & Driver ever tested is the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder — 0-60 in 2.2s. A hybrid, just like the new P1 from Mclaren.

lukashed• 12 years ago

They did a good job with the lighting effects. Especially in the tunnel it seems a lot faster than it actually is I think.

crististm• 12 years ago

With the car getting further away, the speed sensation diminishes. The lighting effects help with the compensation.

semerda2• 12 years ago

Thank you for your review. Just makes me want to own a Tesla now.. This is so exciting!

So to compare how fast a S P85D is... Lamborghini Veneno is 2.8s 0-60 costs $4.5m. Porsche GT3 is 3.3s 0-60 costs $130k

The S P85D is a sedan family car with the power of a race car.. 2 electric motors powering an AWD setup. New models go 10 miles further then old models with a single electric motor. That's Innovation to be excited over.

aetherson• 12 years ago

Well, it has the low-speed torque of a race car. 0-60 is a stat that electric cars are uniquely good at. It's not the only stat that matters to race cars.

axelf• 12 years ago

Corvette Z06 can do 0-60 in ~3s for $80k

jstelly• 12 years ago

The P85D will probably be around $130K also. The current P85+ is around that already.

Watch This Tesla Drive Itself at the Press of a Button [video]

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