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Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war

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Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war

#151

Post by saurik »

lttlrck wrote: post #131
kylehotchkiss wrote: post #48

Remove the LTE chip and all functionality related to ads, support wireless CarPlay and android auto, and use physical buttons. You’ll win every award in the industry.

Slate have done this and it's really quite compelling. You even get window winders. https://www.slate.auto/en/personalization

I mean, they did something, for sure, but they sure as hell didn't do "this" ;P. What they are doing is more in the line of not providing even hardware, much less software, which is an entirely different paradigm... like, they don't even provide speakers?!...

Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war

#152

Post by phyzix5761 »

kylehotchkiss wrote: post #48

Remove the LTE chip and all functionality related to ads, support wireless CarPlay and android auto, and use physical buttons. You’ll win every award in the industry.

Physical buttons are a huge need. Its so distracting navigating through screens to change the temperature while driving.

Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war

#153

Post by rad_gruchalski »

smartmic wrote: post #60
tehjoker wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aviation standards are the way they are because if you have an engine problem you can’t pull over to the side of the road. But yes, something approximating these for road conditions is a good idea imo. Part of me thinks the reason they are doing an integrated system is a combination of economics and convenience for 3 letter agencies to remotely assassinate ppl.

Having an engine problem on a back road is one thing, having a software-system-integration-what-the-hell problem on a Autobahn at 180 km/h +/- is a different story. And yes, I do not want my family in the car at that moment.

Hey... I hear the crowd yelling "let's have a speed limit on the Autobahn, 100kph, see how we fix many problems at once" /s

Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war

#154

Post by Tagbert »

lttlrck wrote: post #131
kylehotchkiss wrote: post #48

Remove the LTE chip and all functionality related to ads, support wireless CarPlay and android auto, and use physical buttons. You’ll win every award in the industry.

Slate have done this and it's really quite compelling. You even get window winders. https://www.slate.auto/en/personalization

The window winders I can do without. Not sure that even saves a noticeable amount of money at this point with electric windows such as commodity.

Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war

#155

Post by ericmay »

phyzix5761 wrote: post #152
kylehotchkiss wrote: post #48

Remove the LTE chip and all functionality related to ads, support wireless CarPlay and android auto, and use physical buttons. You’ll win every award in the industry.

Physical buttons are a huge need. Its so distracting navigating through screens to change the temperature while driving.

That’s interesting - what vehicles require you to do that? I know the usual suspect is the Tesla, which I have, but I never have to navigate through menus to change the temperature while driving.

As an aside a lot of people like to levy criticism on the infotainment screens which I think is very well deserved, but then people text and drive, watch YouTube videos, and do all sorts of crazy things too.

Instead of levying criticism on these distractions (let’s include billboard too) we should instead focus on just reducing car usage since we won’t stop people from being distracted.

The safest car is the one in your garage.

Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war

#156

Post by almostgotcaught »

archon wrote: post #135
lttlrck wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Slate have done this and it's really quite compelling. You even get window winders. https://www.slate.auto/en/personalization

"Have done this" implies Slate has delivered even one vehicle. They have not. I hope Slate succeeds, but let's not get caught up in the preorder hype.

This is the same way that hn proclaims every single arxiv paper as revolutionary. I really wonder sometimes who is this gullible on the internet (kids? bots? I influencers?)

Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war

#157

Post by teekert »

smartmic wrote: post #30

So I have serious thoughts about driving “software defined vehicles” in the future. I mean, and the article has confirmed this sufficiently, the core competence of the established car manufacturers is not software. I don't trust the newcomers like Tesla or the Chinese manufacturers for the time being. In my opinion, the same standards should apply to software in motor vehicles as in the aviation industry. And there c…

That Niva is so nice! Just very very fuel inefficient, but man can it do off road in the hills of Albania. Take the one with the low gear and the diff-lock (and heated seats!). It's a joy to ride that thing (although not on the freeway). I also considered it, but even before sanctions is was very expensive due to taxes (here in western Europe). But it's so much fun.

Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war

#158

Post by izzydata »

ta1243 wrote: post #101
HPsquared wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are safety standards for automobile software: ISO 26262. Software for steering or braking systems is of high quality. It's not the same team that does the infotainment.

My car randomly braked today because it thought a car on a side road was pulling out. Not just sound the alarm but actually apply the brakes. Fortunately I didn't have a tailgater behind me. I disable the "land assist" every time (which often tries to steer me into wildlife or other cars and was clearly not built for use on a single track country roads with hedges and random verges), but this was the first time in 3…

This happened to be on a highway when driving my friends car with all these assisted driving "features" while in cruise control. I was going up a small hill and for whatever reason there was a car stopped right at the top that I couldn't see. So the car slammed the breaks while I was in the middle of swerving out of the way. Which caused me to swerve more than I had intended. After I regained control it removed the breaks and attempted to return to the 80mph I was at previously which caused more problems because I wasn't ready for that.

I am now of the opinion that a car should never under any circumstance drive for you. If a car has cruise control it should cruise control you into a wall. That I can at least anticipate.

Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war

#159

Post by Tsiklon »

Tagbert wrote: post #154
lttlrck wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Slate have done this and it's really quite compelling. You even get window winders. https://www.slate.auto/en/personalization

The window winders I can do without. Not sure that even saves a noticeable amount of money at this point with electric windows such as commodity.

All depends on how they market it. Wind down windows to me today is an aesthetic statement - “we are selling a cheap, no frills vehicle - look see! Even wind down windows”

Such positioning could be what the intended customer base react well to.

Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war

#160

Post by AlotOfReading »

stahtops wrote: post #87
HPsquared wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are safety standards for automobile software: ISO 26262. Software for steering or braking systems is of high quality. It's not the same team that does the infotainment.

How do you square this with the article? It states that consumer reports, (a for profit company providing independent reviews, and not a regulatory body) said the Model 3 stopping distance was not good. Allegedly due to a “bad ABS calibration”. Tesla released an OTA SW update. Why wasn’t the bad calibration and degraded performance caught by regulators testing automobile safety standards? The article also posits that…

The role of US regulators in the automotive industry is pretty different from what you seem to be expecting. They see their main goal is to set minimum, testable benchmarks for safety and give manufacturers freedom to achieve that in any reasonably justifiable way. The consequence of this is that almost nothing is required beyond meeting FMVSS and passing the tests it prescribes. ABS stopping distance is one of those tests, but a quick glance at the CR tests doesn't look like an FMVSS failure. The stopping distance simply wasn't up to industry norms.

Another consequence is that ISO-26262 and most other standards are completely, 100% norm-based in the US. They're used because the industry expects them, not because there's a legal requirement. You can deviate all you want and the only consequence is that regulators might take a closer look at your paperwork in the event of issues because they look unusual.

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