Most cars don’t improve over time. By contrast, Model S gets faster, smarter, and better as time passes. With Tesla’s regular over-the-air software updates, Model S actually improves while you sleep. When you wake up, added functionality, enhanced performance, and improved user experience make you feel like you are driving a new car. We want to improve cars in ways most people didn’t imagine possible.
Among other things, the latest update introduces two key applications that ensure you never unintentionally run out of range, giving you peace of mind at all times. Here’s how they work:
Range Assurance
The Range Assurance application is always running quietly in the background even when navigation is not in use. In realtime, it communicates with the network of Tesla Superchargers and destination chargers, discarding any that are in heavy use or inactive and warns you before you drive out of range
The navigation system then shows a map of the most convenient charging locations and guides you to the closest one. Moreover, it factors in height changes, like having to climb over a mountain pass, and looks up weather and windspeed from the Internet to determine range with extreme accuracy.
From a user standpoint, all that complexity is taken care of automatically. No need to think ahead or do any calculations. This software update makes it effectively impossible for a Model S driver to run out of charge unintentionally. Your car always takes care of you.
Trip Planner
Model S will now automatically navigate you to your destination by integrating the best charging options into your route. As with Range Assurance, your car looks up the charging locations in realtime, so it always has the most updated list and queries the Tesla Superchargers to determine their status. Essentially, it is a big network of cars communicating dynamically with a big network of chargers.
Sneak peek at Trip Planner: automatically selecting a Supercharger route to minimize driving & charging time. pic.twitter.com/oyfJDr88nW— Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) March 19, 2015
In 3 months autopilot automatic steering
A major update will be available over summer 2015, when Tesla deployed v7.0 of its OS. Just in time for the new Model X SUV, which is due in the next few months.
In a ‘sneak peek’, Musk told CAR on a conference call that v7.0 would bring a ‘complete UI overhaul.’ That’s UI as in User Interface, or the giant screen that operates most of the Model S’s features.
Musk said that the UI would change radically, much as an iPhone’s screen layout has evolved over time. ‘The car is becoming more and more sensually aware – we are waking up the car,’ he told CAR. ‘We want an interface that reflects the way the car sees the world.’
Tesla’s v7.0 software update would bring auto-steering to market and Musk said engineers were already testing the tech on the roads from San Francisco to Seattle. When laws catch up, the car will be able to steer itself using a combination of detailed sat-nav and sensors onboard. ‘On private property, you will be able to press a button on your Tesla app and summon the car,’ he said. ‘Press it again and the car will drive back to the garage, park itself and close the door. It can even drive in the dark, underground.’
However, when self-driving cars become safer than human-driven cars, the public may outlaw the latter. Hopefully not.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2015
SOURCES – Tesla Blog, Tesla twitter, elon musk twitter, car magazine UK, youtube
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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