I think Tesla may have been stalling for time with regard to the MCU
recall. They're now in a stronger financial position than in the past so
certainly can better afford a recall. They had announced a warranty
extension on these same display units late in 2020. They also may be under
pressure from the NHTSA as MCU failures can affect important car
functionality, like defrost, at least on older firmware.

As for physical UI design..it looks like Tesla has removed all 3 steering
column stalks on the latest just-unveiled interior refresh of the Model S
and X. They had eliminated 1 stalk on Model 3. The alternative controls are
on the steering wheel itself.

I do not like these physical UI changes myself. I wish manufacturers (e.g.
Toyota vs Tesla vs Ford vs GM vs etc.) had a standard layout on the
important functions that are placed on stalks, but you will find the
placement varies by manufacturer. I do think the Model 3 single screen
touch-UI is better now than it was at release. The features have certainly
improved.

I understand the physical UI changes are being done with the idea that
software coming out with improved 'full self driving' capabilities will
mean drivers won't need to use those physical controls much or at all
anymore. Tesla is like Apple in multiple ways; both push the envelope of
what is acceptable, including in the realm of what features to remove.

My opinion is the physical controls should remain available by default at
least until the software has been stable, out in the real world, for say at
least a year (to cover all seasons). And even after that, extra physical
controls should remain an option when ordering.

Systems should be designed to fail gracefully, such that the loss of an
ultrasonic sensor or camera or radar unit doesn't force the driver to try
to manually control important functions via a touchscreen (where important
means high/low beam headlights, wiper speed, blinkers, maybe also basic
cruise). Similarly, even if a door latch sensor fails, the system should
still attempt to lock the doors if the driver pushes the (on screen) door
lock button. The system can reasonably indicate a door may be open, but it
shouldn't give up on trying to lock the doors.


On Wed, Feb 3, 2021, 10:50 Peri Hartman via EV <[email protected]> wrote:

> I'm sure everyone has read something about  NHTSA's recall mandate for
> Tesla, regarding it's failing main display.
>
>
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/02/02/tesla-touch-screen-recall/
>
> I wonder how much of Tesla's pushback was to defer costs till 2021 ?
> They made four consecutive profitable quarters last year. I don't think
> this recall is going to be a huge expense, but still.
>
> What does this say for the future of single display systems in cars ?
> Frankly, I like the tactile feedback of knobs. You can reach for a knob
> without looking and you can adjust it without looking. I'm not sure that
> is true for a display, it certainly isn't when using my phone.
>
> I could see a hybrid system evolve in the future. Something with several
> knobs or sliders, etc., that can be mapped to different functions so
> that you never have to touch the display, at least for primary
> functions. They could even be on the steering wheel. For example, the
> slider (or some other tactile control) might be used to select a
> function, like HVAC, and several knobs could be used to adjust temp,
> vent selection, velocity. I think some variant of this is being done by
> other manufacturers, but evidentially not Tesla.
>
> Peri
>
>
> << Annoyed by leaf blowers ? https://quietcleanseattle.org/ >>
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL: <
> http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20210203/cfdd56c2/attachment.html
> >
> _______________________________________________
> UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
> ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/
> LIST INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: 
<http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20210203/db321eba/attachment.html>
_______________________________________________
UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/
LIST INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org

Reply via email to