Tesla has begun extensive data collection in the WB Studio area over the last 4 days, according to Tesla hardware hacker @greentheonly. This comes just a day after news broke that Tesla intends to host their upcoming Robotaxi event at WB Studios, a city-like area with more than 110 acres of land, roads, and buildings.
Data Gathering
Tesla is gathering additional data in this area as vehicles drive around since most of the area is open to the public. Tesla could be gathering or confirming data to build composite maps, including everything from stop signs, intersections, and construction to bumps in the road to change suspension heights on the Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck for additional comfort. While pre-mapped data may be frowned upon by some, it could be the equivalent of someone driving on a familiar road instead of one they’ve never driven on. Confidence and safety levels are usually increased the more familiar you are with the area. The same holds for autonomous vehicles, the more information they have on upcoming intersections and road types, the better they can perform.
This new data-gathering initiative in the WB Studio area is likely to facilitate the “learned experience” that Tesla’s FSD model builds over time in normal locations. The WB Studio area, including set pieces, filming areas, and residential areas likely aren’t highly frequented by Tesla vehicles, this is something that Tesla is doing with the intent of hosting the Robotaxi demos next month.
Previously, Tesla said that areas don’t need to be mapped by its vehicles, but once they are mapped, decision-making and route pre-processing improve. This is likely all being done to provide the safest, simplest, and cleanest experience to the attendees of the event.
Other Locations
Tesla is also gathering information throughout parts of San Francisco, the Bay Area, and areas like the Tesla Diner in Hollywood (updated photos). It seems that Tesla intends to introduce its future Robotaxi service in California first, before expanding outwards. Deep data collection like this isn’t unusual, but, interestingly, Tesla is doing it very intentionally.
For now, it may be that the initial Robotaxi rollout, whenever it does happen – will be geofenced to specific areas as Tesla works on the Robotaxi-specific pieces of FSD.
Event Sign-up
So far, we haven’t heard any news of how Tesla will distribute tickets for their Robotaxi event. They could use their referral system like they have in the past, or they may pick shareholders randomly. We should find out more soon as the event approaches.
Tesla’s upcoming Home Wireless Charging Pad – the so-called “Project Garfield,” will get special Autopark support. Vehicle backup cameras will be able to locate the Wireless Charging Pad and then Autopark the vehicle in the best spot for the charging session to begin.
This information comes from Gizmodo China, who found this information from a reputable local source. We previously looked into Tesla’s Wireless Charging Patents in-depth and how Tesla intends to make this a simple and easy-to-use system, but one that’s also fairly high performance.
Automatic Docking
Similar to your robotic vacuum automatically docking to charge, eventually, your Tesla will be able to automatically locate your Home Wireless Charging Pad, and then maneuver itself into the perfect spot to take advantage of the highest charging speeds with the least energy leakage.
Automatically docking the vehicle is a fantastic solution to the woes of Wireless Charging, where even minor misalignment creates heat and wastes lots of energy. This fixes that issue at the vehicle level, so owners won’t have to move their wireless charging pads under the vehicle or move their vehicle around to find the perfect spot on their own.
In combination with Tesla’s patent to automatically adapt to variations in wireless charging layouts and systems, it seems that Tesla will be able to adapt to most circumstances that previous wireless EV charging companies were having difficulties with. Tesla will be able to vary the coil induction across its Wireless Charging Pad to “steer” or aim the wireless charging at different parts of the inductive coil inside the vehicle, enabling them to reduce heat, reduce waste energy, and accommodate variances in how vehicles line-up with the Wireless Charging Pad.
This feature may be limited to owners or subscribers of Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving, which come with AutoPark as a standard feature. It could also be a software-level feature that’s enabled when a Home Wireless Charging Pad is detected nearby—which could also be an excellent option. We don’t know how Tesla plans to implement this just yet, but it will be very cool.
While we expect Tesla’s upcoming Robotaxi to feature the first Wireless Charging tech inside an EV, the Cybertruck already has the connectors for it and is ready to be retrofitted with the induction coils in a future update. The upcoming Model Y Juniper may also bring Wireless Charging en-masse to EVs.
We’re super excited to hear more about Tesla’s Home Wireless Charging Pads, as they’ll add even more convenience to owning a Tesla.
Rendering of what Tesla's integration could look like
@dkrasniy
Tesla is adding support for Smart Child Seats in an upcoming update. Greentheonly, who typically decompiles and analyzes Tesla’s software updates, found references to smart car seats in update 2024.32. Tesla will sometimes release code in a software update that isn’t exposed to end users. There could be various reasons for this, such as Tesla wanting to collect data and running the feature in shadow mode, which is often the case with features like Park Assist, Autopark, or Autopilot changes.
Tesla also has the capability to turn on a certain feature in a remote configuration, letting them enable or disable the feature at their discretion. Whatever the case, Tesla appears close to releasing support for these new car seats that help alert parents of potential dangers.
Smart Child Seats
The Smart Child Seat in the preview image is the Babyark Convertible Car Seat, which retails for approximately $1,200 USD. In the code of Tesla’s update, they specifically refer to an “ISOFIX” base. ISOFIX is a standardized car seat fitting system that automatically locks onto a car seat.
The Babyark comes with a slew of smart features, including real-time notifications, buckle alerts, status notifications, and approximately how much time your baby has spent in the seat. Additionally, the Babyark can remind owners of reconfiguring the seat as your child grows. One of the key features of Babyark is a forgotten child alert – which prevents parents from leaving their child in the car.
At this point, we’re not quite sure exactly how many of these smart features will be integrated into Tesla’s UI, but most likely the forgotten child alert will be integrated, as well as possibly a means to automatically recognize when an ISOFIX style seat is installed. Currently, child seats need to be manually marked in the UI – which will dismiss the seatbelt indicator for that seat.
Tesla has time and time again placed a huge focus on safety features, and this upcoming support for smart child seats is another interesting integration to help ensure that parents can keep their children safe. And when they grow up – you can use Tesla’s parental controls to ensure that they drive their Tesla in a safe manner.
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