In a seemingly impromptu Twitter Q&A yesterday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed some further details about the company's expansion into larger forms of terrestrial electric vehicles. Promising that a long-awaited pickup truck was indeed on the way, he also hinted at a few upcoming software upgrades to make life easier for existing Tesla owners.
Tesla first signaled its intentions to move into the trucking space when Musk published Master Plan, Part Deux in July of 2016. Musk wrote of the Tesla Semi's potential to "deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport," and also listed a new kind of pickup truck as part of its strategy to hit most segments of the consumer market.
Musk then took to Twitter in April last year to state that the pickup unveil was 18 to 24 months away. His latest public statements on the matter don't do much to clarify this timeline, but do suggest he hasn't lost any enthusiasm for the project.
"I promise that we will make a pickup truck right after Model Y," he tweeted. "Have had the core design/engineering elements in my mind for almost 5 years. Am dying to build it."
The Tesla Model Y is Tesla's upcoming all-electric compact SUV, expected to be built on a new vehicle platform and launched in 2019 at the earliest. Musk expanded a little on what the pickup might look like, in response to a Twitter user asking how it would compare to America's best-selling pickup, the Ford F-150."Similar total size," he tweeted. "Maybe slightly bigger to account for a really game-changing (I think) feature I'd like to add."
What that game-changing feature might be is anyone's guess, but Musk did tease a few new bells and whistles for those with a Tesla already parked in the driveway. According to the tech tycoon, new features to be added via software updates in the near future include app-controlled window, seat and steering wheel heaters, an upgraded browser, "vastly better" maps and navigation and windscreen wipers that adjust their speed automatically depending on how heavy the rainfall is.
Musk also appeared to okay a number of other requests from owners, but without specifying a timeline. These include a feature where internal cameras automatically start recording if the windows are smashed in the event of a break-in, the navigation system sending an alert to other family members about what time to expect you home and some kind of Disco Mode, where ambient light changes in time to funky beats.
"Was gonna say we'll do all but the last, but that last one sounds like good, cheesy fun :)," he said.

 

In what promises to be a big step forward in 3D vision systems for autonomous vehicles, Velodyne has announced a new 128-channel LiDAR sensor that boasts the longest range and highest-resolution on the market.

LiDAR sensors are used to provide real-time 3D mapping and object detection in many autonomous driving systems. Velodyne LiDAR developed and patented the world's first 3D real-time rotating LiDAR sensor for advanced automotive safety applications in 2005. Its first application was during the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge that year, in which autonomous vehicles competed to complete a course through a mock urban environment.

Since then, Velodyne's increasingly capable sensors have been installed in thousands of vehicles around the world, and currently provide core technology for several autonomous vehicle development programs.

Since then, Velodyne's increasingly capable sensors have been installed in thousands of vehicles around the world, and currently provide core technology for several autonomous vehicle development programs.

Since then, Velodyne's increasingly capable sensors have been installed in thousands of vehicles around the world, and currently provide core technology for several autonomous vehicle development programs.

 

The new flagship VLS-128 model is claimed to have 10 times the resolving power of the company's previous benchmark model, the HDL-64. As well as doubling the channel numbers, channel density has been tripled and the zoom resolution doubled, enabling it to detect objects more clearly and identify them more accurately. The resulting range is 300 meters (984 ft) and the high-resolution data gathered enables it to directly detect objects without additional sensor fusion, reducing computational complexity.

Despite the increase in resolving power, the VLS-128 is around one third the weight of the HDL-64 and it features auto-alignment technology that will be progressively installed in Velodyne's other LiDAR offerings.

Velodyne claims that as well as its capabilities in low-speed urban environments, the VLS-128 will help autonomous vehicles to function at highway speeds, where it's "designed to solve for all corner cases needed for full autonomy."

 

"We think the biggest unsolved problem for autonomous driving at highway speeds is avoiding road debris," says company founder and CEO, David Hall. "That's tough, because you have to see way out ahead. The self-driving car needs to change lanes, if possible, and do so safely. On top of that, most road debris is shredded truck tire – all black material on a dark surface. Especially at night, that type of object recognition is challenging, even for the LiDAR sensors we've previously built. The autonomous car needs to see further out, with denser point clouds and higher laser repetitions."

Velodyne says it will begin shipping the VLS-128 by year's end.

The Boring Company was dreamt up by serial entrepreneur Elon Musk as a way of solving traffic woes, and the notoriously choked up highways of LA are among its very first targets. With a proof-of-concept tube already underway, The Boring Company has now expanded on its plans for the City of Angels, offering an idea of how a network of high-speed tunnels could take shape.
Musk first started talking about tunnels as a solution to traffic problems last December, and in the space of a year he's made some impressive strides. Earlier this year, he held "promising talks" with the mayor of LA about his tunnel network ideas, and then in October revealed that the company had begun boring its first tube beneath the city. 

These tunnels would essentially function as fast freeways, where vehicles and passenger pods latch onto electric skates and get shuttled along at up to 150 mph (241 km/h). There would on and off ramps every mile or so, each with a dedicated side tunnel to avoid logjams. These tunnels could also form part of a Hyperloop system over larger distances between cities.

While all of that remains a ways off, the company is making progress on its proof-of-concept tunnel. Photos shared by Musk in October showed a fully concreted tunnel complete with tracks and cables that he said at the time measured 500 ft (152.4 m) and within three of four months would stretch to around 2 mi (3.2 km). 

 

In a new map shared by The Boring Company, this tunnel can be seen in red, running alongside the Interstate 405 highway between West LA and Inglewood. The company has filed an excavation permit application for this, which it calls Phase 1 proof-of-concept tunnel and says it would eventually measure 6.5 mi (10.4 km) in length.

This tube will be used for safety testing and demonstrations, but not for public transport until it had been ticked off by the local authorities and The Boring Company itself. The routes shown in blue are potential expansion options, though these are simply conceptual at this point. The company says it would develop these tunnels in collaboration with the authorities and will be seeking input from the general public on station locations and other system improvements.

Source: The Boring Company, NewAtlas