Tesla is creating San Francisco in a simulation to help train Autopilot
Tesla
Tesla may be ramping up how it uses simulation to train its Autopilot system. A report by Electrek asserts that it has sources claiming that the company is concentrating on a reproduction of San Francisco. The article includes an image of the recreation and states that Tesla is working with Real Engine on its simulation.
According to Electrek, the image below is part of Tesla's simulation of San Francisco.
An image of Tesla's San Francisco simulation that was obtained by Electrek
Electrek
Tesla gave the world a look at how it uses simulation to advance the Autopilot program during the first AI Day in August of 2021 (recap).
AI Day
At the first AI Day Tesla talked about the use of using simulations to help train Autopilot. The video below is cued up to where they discuss a simulation.
Ashok Elluswamy, the Director of the Autopilot Program, showed a video that, at first glance, looked real other than an appearance by a Cybertruck. “I may say so myself. It looks very pretty,” said Elluswamy. He explained that the company is investing heavily in using simulation. “It helps when data is difficult to source. As large as our fleet is (FSD Beta users), it can still be hard to get some crazy scenes,” the director explained while showing a rendering of two people and a dog running in the middle of a busy highway. “This is a rare scene, but it can happen, and Autopilot still needs to handle it when it happens,” said Elluswamy.
It appears that Tesla has jumped on Fortnite’s Battle Bus by teaming up with Epic Games and its development platform — Unreal Engine. Fortnite is one of the most popular games of all time, with 80 million subscribers and 4 million daily users, and it was created with Unreal Engine. Epic flexed its creative muscles when it gathered experts to create The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience. The goal was to “blur the boundaries between cinematic and game, inviting us to ask — what is real?” The project spotlight on Unreal Engine shows just how incredibly realistic a simulation can be.
After Elluswamy explained that the company is investing in simulation, it makes sense that Tesla would be hiring several positions with simulation in the job description. Electrek pointed out one posting for Autopilot Rendering Engineer. The posting states the successful candidate “will contribute to the development of Autopilot simulation by enabling and supporting the creation of photo-realistic 3D scenes that can accurately model the driving experience in a wide range of locales and conditions.” Tesla prefers the candidates have experience working with Unreal Engine.
While not new, this does show that Tesla is doubling down on efforts to improve Autopilot. It has recently rolled out Full Self Driving to 60,000 more users, bringing the FSD Beta program to 160,000 in North America.
We can only guess how many thousands of simulations the Autopilot team is conducting to add to the data the Beta testers are collecting. It seems unlikely that Tesla has only created the City by the Bay in its simulations. Perhaps Elluswamy will show more renderings at the second AI Day on September 30th.
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Tesla’s latest update includes a special feature for Cybertruck that may eventually be rolled out to the rest of the lineup. It appears Tesla is getting ready for the summer road trip season early by focusing on enhanced security for drivers who tow trailers and improving accessibility to its Supercharger network for such vehicles.
Cybertruck's New Trailer Alarm Feature
A standout feature in the latest update is introducing a trailer alarm system for the Cybertruck. This innovative feature extends the vehicle's alarm system to monitor the connection status of a trailer hitched to the vehicle. In practical terms, this means the vehicle's alarm will now also protect the trailer, ensuring an added layer of security for owners' valuable cargo.
Activating or deactivating alongside the vehicle's alarm system, this feature can be conveniently managed through the vehicle's settings under the "Towing and Hauling" section, where the "Trailer Alarm" option is located. Owners who prefer not to use this feature can disable it, tailoring the vehicle's security settings to their preferences. At this point, we only have confirmation of the feature in Cybertruck, but it would make sense to add it to the other models that haul trailers as well.
Enhanced Supercharger Network Accessibility
Tesla is also improving the Supercharging experience for drivers with trailers. Recognizing owners' difficulties when charging vehicles while towing, Tesla has been progressively introducing pull-through stalls at Supercharger stations. These stalls are designed to accommodate vehicles with trailers, eliminating the need to detach trailers before charging – a significant improvement over the traditional back-in stalls that dominate the network.
Wes Morrill, a Cybertruck engineer who has become more vocal on X, posted that the “Supercharger team is always looking for opportunities to install these at new locations. Will show trailer friendly stalls on the in-vehicle UI to make it easier when road tripping with a trailer.”
Amid rising gas prices, Tesla's updates offer a cost-effective solution for summer road trips. The new trailer alarm and UI improvements for finding Supercharger stations address towing challenges, enhancing the Tesla experience. This initiative showcases Tesla's commitment to innovation and sustainable travel, enabling owners to bypass the impact of fuel costs and enjoy their adventures.
Elon Musk announced that Tesla will finally reintroduce Smart Summon and Autopark to its vehicles. According to the CEO, these features are scheduled for release in April. Tesla removed ultrasonic sensors (USS) from their vehicles in 2022, and with it removed several features, including Autopark, Smart Summon and Park Assist. However, since then, they’ve added High Fidelity Park Assist, a feature that recreates the surrounding environment in 3D. Although, it’s currently only available to vehicles without USS, that’s expected to change in the near future, and could also come bundled in with the new Autopark feature.
This update in April is not only expected bring these features back to vehicles without ultrasonic sensors, but Tesla is also expected to release drastically improved versions of these features, known as Actually Smart Summon and Tap to Park.
Major improvements coming for Summon & Banish (Autopark) next month - Elon Musk
Improved Autopark
Greentheonly, who regularly decompiles Tesla firmware, has indicated that Tesla's latest software, version 2024.8, already contains the code necessary for these new features, but they need to be remotely activated by Tesla. Additionally, Green says the new Autopark system will offer users the choice between parallel and perpendicular parking options. The new Autopark is expected to let drivers visually select a parking spot, exit the vehicle, and let it park itself.
New ‘Tap to Park’ Feature
With the introduction of High Fidelity Park Assist, Tesla laid the groundwork for more sophisticated features like "Tap to Park."
Tap to Park builds on the original concept of Park Seek, a feature discussed by Tesla in October 2022 that aimed to automate the parking spot search process. While the initial vision for Park Seek suggested a vehicle could autonomously search for parking, "Tap to Park" simplifies this idea.
With the deployment of FSD Beta v12.3 going to more users this weekend, the company continues to leverage AI to reduce code in favor of neural networks trained with real-world driving data.
Just last week, Musk posted on X: "Really cool stuff coming both this month and next." Since that post, FSD beta version 12.3 has started going to more users, and now it seems two other long overdue and highly anticipated updates are coming with Actually Smart Summon and Tap to Park. Still no word on auto wiper improvements.
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