Tesla may introduce dashcams with Ver 9 of its software

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from https://electrek.co/2018/06/25/tesla-dashcam-feature-autopilot-camera-with-version-9-elon-musk/

Due to the development of Tesla Model 3 software, new features for other vehicles have been quite rare over the last year.
One long-awaited feature that suffered from this delay has been the dashcam feature using Autopilot cameras.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk now says that the feature might end up in the automaker’s software update version 9, which is supposedly coming this summer.
Tesla’s vehicles are now all equipped with 8 cameras to power its Autopilot features and for a while now, some owners have been asking for the possibility to also use them as a dashcam.
It sort of already does, but for Tesla’s own benefit and not the owners.
While working on a damaged Model S last year, Tesla tinkerer Jason Hughes found out that Tesla Autopilot camera stores footage after a crash like a dashcam.
He managed to restore the images from the crash that damaged the all-electric vehicle. Hughes even used the feature to find the evidence that points toward pedal misapplication in a case of sudden acceleration in a Model X.
It showed the all-electric SUV pulling into a parking space and crashing into a building:
That was with Tesla’s first generation Autopilot, which had only one forward-facing camera.
Now with even more cameras and using Tesla’s own system instead of Mobileye’s, the company should have more flexibility to offer a dashcam feature using the same hardware.
Last summer, Musk said that it was “coming soon,” but it is still not available almost a year later.
Now the CEO says that it could be released with the upcoming software version 9:
He said that it will include the first ‘full self-driving features’ and a new Autopilot interface. Now “hopefully” he’ll add a dashcam feature to the list.
Tesla’s vehicles are quite expensive and owners want the extra security of having a dashcam recording everything that happens around it – whether it’d be in case of an accident or even vandalism with an always-on feature.
It can also capture some interesting footage, especially regarding Autopilot. A few examples:

The Blackvue dashcam has been a popular option for Tesla owners, but now it looks like they could simply use their existing onboard cameras after a software update.
We will wait to see the actual capabilities of the feature before calling it the end of the Tesla market for dashcams, but it is certainly interesting.

The comments in the the link are interesting. Some of the readers are mentioning are hoping all 8 cameras are dash cams, to catch things like door dings in the parking lot. So it seems they would want a side cam.
 
Will be interesting to see how this progresses.
Though I've only seen one picture of their crash system report (or whatever they want to call it), the quality didn't look that great.
(good enough to be useful though)


I clicked on one of those links (autopiliot's side collision), which was 2 years old but in the comments, they were talking about Tesla needing to add a "horn" feature.

Does (did) Tesla not have a steering wheel horn??o_O
 
Many people with dashcam experience usually prefer the specifics of standalone dashcams as opposed to dashcams installed from the manufacturers, but not always..

I really want a Tesla model 3, and if it will fit in my garage then it's on my wish list… as for an inbuilt dashcam, how much storage does a model 3 come with?
 
I would imagine it would be like car stereo's in which the factory installed piece of equipment is just barely suitable. I am not sure what the resolution is of the camera's or if the side cameras will be configured to to 60 fps. But its interesting Tesla owners are requesting dash cams and some are asking for the sidecam feature.

I think corvette had dash cams and @Gibson99 has replied its was only 720p

Although I am leery about car manufacturers producing something which is low cost and low performance, to keep overall car costs down, it would be nice if was integrated with the car system. Imagine
  1. speed from the speedometer
  2. rpms
  3. display on braking
  4. display of signals (left/right/hazard)
  5. Lights including full beams
All on the video of a dash cam.
 
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It appears the corvette system is geared to racing and the image is really dull. No left / right blinker, from what I can see. The front channel on my two channel camera was 720p and it gave a much better picture than this. The colours on my Iroad was much clear and image sharper and even then, It fell out favour when I got my A119. I hope if an automotive manufacturer does start to produce integrated dash cams in the cars, they outsource the lens components and processors from a third party, as opposed to producing their own scratch.

It also begs the question about what if the camera dies. Numerous users of really old cameras have found them to die out after a few years. The rear camera on my two channel system died two and half years after use and for the front, condensation and clock issues on the front camera appeared after three years of use. Would it be possible to get an extended warranty on the integrated cameras that comes with a car?

Rear reverse camera have been around for a while and Ford has its parallel parking system for a number of years. How well are those things holding up after years of use.
 
The only place I've used backup cameras extensively is in rental cars in thailand, where the roads are often dusty. If you are on a long trip you have to clean the rear lens several times a day, or it's worthless. (Toyotas) I'm not sure why they didn't place the rear cam somewhere in the sweep of the rear wiper on vans/suvs?

I don't think Tesla would want 'too much' info available on the cam system, like turn signal usage, and what the driver is actually doing at the time of an accident, etc.
:)

It wouldn't be a selling point if all of this data is known to the average potential buyer. (Some of this stuff is already recorded on the car black boxes, but not easily accessible.)
 
The backup camera's here in Canada have the same problem with road salt.

I think having everything embedded in the video may help accident reconstruction, but most drivers would be opposed to this if possible disable it. Heck yesterday morning the was a van in front of me with its plate pretty much obscured. If there was a hit and run ...
 
The factory backup camera in our 2008 Toyota still works fine. It's located just above the rear license plate, next to the hatch release button. it becomes useless in rain because water droplets hang on the lens, distorting the entire picture, and sometimes gets dirty but not horrible. If they put it inside the cabin, in the wiper area, due to the slope of the back glass, it would be useless for backing up to connect to a trailer or parallel parking - wouldn't be able to see things within about a meter of the back bumper.
 
Given that we can pick up decent dashcams from as little as £35 here, it's pretty safe to say no vehicle manufacturer is ever gonna offer the dashcam option on their brand new cars for just an extra £35 :)
 
Well its been available in the since the weekend and already caught an accident.


Kind of looks like my dad's old 8 mm camera he used filming myself and my siblings in the 60's and 70's. I am watching this ... expecting some wild sideburns, bell bottomed pants and a younger sister learning to walk.
 
I wonder if the backup camera needs cleaning from time to time also. Interesting that the Honda in the video has a lot of old damage in the area about to be struck.

The unfortunate fate of Brad King’s Model 3 shows just how useful a built-in Dashcam solution is for Tesla’s electric cars. Had the Dashcam function not been active during the accident, it would have been quite difficult to prove the Honda Accord driver’s fault. For now, though, the Model 3 owner is simply hoping that he could get behind the wheel of another Tesla in the near future.

Tesla’s built-in Dashcam solution has long been requested by owners of the company’s electric cars. Prior to the release of Software V9, Elon Musk announced on Twitter that Dashcam features would make it to the initial Version 9 rollout. It did not take long before advanced early access users started sharing footage of their vehicles’ Dashcam, which were surprisingly very clear. For now, the built-in Dashcam relies solely on the vehicles’ narrow forward-facing camera, though there is a pretty good chance that later iterations of the feature would utilize the feed from the other cameras installed on the electric cars.
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-3-accident-recorded-software-v9-dashcam-teslacam/
 
all exterior cameras need cleaning. on the tesla model 3, the ones in the windshield are cleared by the wipers, but ones in the fenders (in the little triangle shaped side markers), B-pillars and of course the back will need to be cleaned in other ways, whether that's a regular car wash or just by hand.

the video i posted seems like obvious insurance fraud, since the honda driver not only had no insurance of his own, but pre-existing damage, and driving with no lights on... only problem (for the honda driver) is he was driving without a license, which would make it much more difficult if he tried to make any legal claims, since he shouldn't have been driving in the first place.

people like that need jail time, not just another ticket/fine.

side note: it's interesting that with all the data available to the tesla dashcam, it doesn't overlay even basic stuff like time/date, speed, or GPS coordinates. it could EASILY include all sorts of info from the vehicle, such as whether autopilot is engaged (and time since user intervention if AP on), brake/accelerator position, turn signals, etc. i'd want that stuff if i had one.
 
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They will probably slowly expand the dash cams abilities. I've read a lot of owners want a 360 view option to utilize all those camera in additional ways. I found this 360 video used with a Go Pro, published May 2017.
Tesla Model S 360° View, Go-Pro Hero 5 4K
 
Its a sad state of driving in North America that in only a few days of being available, two accidents are reported

the video i posted seems like obvious insurance fraud, since the honda driver not only had no insurance of his own, but pre-existing damage, and driving with no lights on... only problem (for the honda driver) is he was driving without a license, which would make it much more difficult if he tried to make any legal claims, since he shouldn't have been driving in the first place.

people like that need jail time, not just another ticket/fine..

Over here, we have almost as many fatalities with automotive accidents as we do with stabbings and shootings. To me a vehicle misused is a dangerous weapon. I feel a history of this, where there is blatant disregard to court orders NOT to drive should face some stiff prison time.
 
Indeed dashcams,,,,, plural.


I can see tesla have copied "zoom" cameras, maybe i better give Elon a call.
 
It was pretty cool to see the tracking in action.
 
It was pretty cool to see the tracking in action.

While it is indeed cool, this type of tracking and analysis has been deployed in the CCTV industry for at least several years now and in some cases has been controversial due to privacy concerns. Basically, instead of recording a random scene full of people in a given location this is a system for tracking and recording the individual activities of vehicles and people. In some locations, face and license plate recognition is used in concert with these systems, especially in the UK and China. I would imagine it is prioritized quite differently for the Tesla's requirements but it is essentially the same technology.

video-tracking.jpg
 
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Indeed dashcams,,,,, plural.


I can see tesla have copied "zoom" cameras, maybe i better give Elon a call.
lots of cool info there - i liked the turn signals and steering position indicators in the Main view, and what i'm guessing might be the user-set autopilot speed in the circle? looks like it's meant for use in the production Dashcam function.
 
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