Tesla will soon release an improved version of Smart Summon
POGAuto
Tesla's Smart Summon is nearing a significant upgrade. According to Elon Musk, Actually Smart Summon, yes, with the acronym ASS, is nearing completion. The CEO was asked if Full Self Driving (FSD) Version 11 would include the feature; Musk tweeted: Going without saying that we all want ASS (Actually Smart Summon) ASAP!!
Enhancing Smart Summon
He's right. ASS would change how many Tesla owners interact with their vehicles daily and move the brand further ahead of the competition. ASS would be an enhanced version of the Smart Summon that is currently available. By pressing the Summon button on the Tesla app, the vehicle will use the smartphone's GPS coordinates to find its driver. This feature has the potential to be a game changer for people who have to walk through cold, deserted parking lots late at night. It will help increase convenience as well as safety, however, it has a long way to go from its current implementation.
Smart Summon in Action
Is Park Seek Included?
It's unclear if the improved version of Smart Summon will just be an enhancement to what's available or if it will include Park Seek. It's been referred to as Reverse Summon for years, but now named Park Seek enables a Tesla to drop off its occupants, including the driver, and then go park all by itself. While the driver doesn't need to be in the vehicle while it finds a parking spot, they can pick preferred spaces. There will be three modes in Park Seek: closest to the entrance, near a cart return, and at the end of the parking lot.
Autopilot Team Believes its Program is Ready
Tesla's Autopilot team spoke in detail during A.I. Day 2022 about advancements in Full Self Driving, including navigating parking lots. A lot of the improvements came through developing a single stack, or one code base, to operate the car on highways, city streets and parking lots.
Tesla's director of the Autopilot program, Ashok Elluswamy, said, "FSD beta software is quite capable of driving the car. It should be able to navigate from parking lot to parking lot, city street driving, stopping for traffic lights and stops signs, negotiating with objects at intersections, making turns and so on."
Paril Jain, the Manager of Autopilot Motion Planning, added timelines to the program "we do expect to also include the parking lot stack as a part of the FSD stack before the end of this year. So, that will basically bring us to you sitting in the car in the parking lot and drive till the end of the parking lot, at a parking spot, before the end of this year."
FSD Version 11, with a single stack, started to roll out on November 11 at 11:11. Musk said it would take a few weeks before it goes to Beta and then a few more weeks before it goes for a wide release to the United States and Canada. If and when that happens, there will be more than 1 million FSD users. Those users will also be able to have their Tesla pick them up and drop them off.
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Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.
Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.
It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.
Advisor-led Demo
This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.
The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.
Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.
Vision-based Improvements
ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.
Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.
I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.
Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.
Actually Smart Summon
ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.
We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.
Park Seek and Banish Autopark
When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.
A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.
While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.
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