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I love having zero redundancy for the steering wheel.

  • owenfromcanada@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    I work in the automotive industry (specifically on steering ECUs and domain controllers). Switching to ethernet doesn’t significantly reduce the amount of copper in the vehicle. In addition, whoever wrote this post has no idea what they’re talking about.

    The other standard automotive networks (CAN, LIN, Flexray, etc) are daisy-chained. So your steering, brakes, drive train and other core ECUs are all on the same two wires. Ethernet, on the other hand, doesn’t actually support that–every ECU needs to run to an active switch in order to communicate on the network. OOP has it completely backwards. Ethernet is beneficial for offering higher bandwidth than the other technologies, but it doesn’t significantly save on copper (it may even require more).

    Most vehicles have more than one network, to isolate the core ECUs for important functions (e.g., steering, braking, throttle, etc) from the less important ones (doors, wipers, media, etc). In addition, any vehicle made in the last 5 years or so would be likely to have a redundant network for the core network, especially if it supports any level of automated driving functions (lane keeping, auto parking, adaptive cruise, etc).

    The only way to save 77% on wiring would be to either put everything on one network, or not have redundant networks, or both. Which, in an autonomous vehicle, would violate a plethora of safety standards. I can’t say what the cyber truck has in it, so we’ll assume OOP is full of shit.

    FYI, nobody with half a brain in the automotive industry will work for Tesla. I got to talk with a couple of former engineers, they indicated they were forced to compromise their integrity and left, and refused to elaborate on it. For what it’s worth.

    • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      The OP over simplified and didn’t understand.

      This Autoevolution Article explains it better. It is not Ethernet, it is power over canbus with distributed control nodes. So I totally buy it using less copper and being a smarter way to do electric car wiring.

      • owenfromcanada@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        Ah, that does make more sense. Having controllers focused on the physical location of components would definitely save on wiring compared to routing them by function. And the connector thing is clever, though I’d be curious to read up on their power-and-data-on-two-wires thing.

        One thing in this article to note though–Tesla isn’t the first to utilize steer-by-wire. That’s literally been around since 2013 (Infiniti was the first, I believe). Most vehicles that used it early on had a physical column that could be engaged as a backup. You know, for safety. The cyber truck is the first fully electric vehicle to not have a physical column, but every other major OEM has them in the pipeline for the next few years. And plenty already have them, but with a physical column as a backup.

        In addition, it’s worth noting that ethernet does not give lower latency, it offers higher bandwidth. There are plenty of SbW systems using CAN, the latency is quite good as long as you’re not overcrowding your bandwidth limits.

      • Aquila@sh.itjust.works
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        7 days ago

        So you can hack teslas from their door handles? Sounds like security and maintenance nightmare

  • unmagical@lemmy.ml
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    7 days ago

    So if there’s a problem in my door then my cameras, blinkers, and power delivery in the trunk might just stop working just cause?

    • Delphia@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      This isnt unique to Tesla, cars with conventional canbus systems start to do wacky shit when controlers start to go bad.

      I had to order a new controler for my Peugeot 206 when the brakes started making the drivers side rear indicator stop working and the rear wiper turn on.

      Honestly I thought it was quite funny, but it was unsafe so it needed fixing.

      • FlexibleToast@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        That’s why ASIL exists. As someone who only very briefly was introduced to that world, I actually think this is the only cool part about the Cybertruck. Every other manufacturer is stuck on that 12v system because of the ancient OS they use. Tesla decided to write their own. Many other companies are working on competitors. I briefly got to play around with Red Hat In Vehicle Operating System (RHIVOS), which is very close to getting its safety rating.

        • owenfromcanada@lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          Not sure what the voltage has to do with the ASIL rating of the OS? I’ve used a few different RTOSes, and experimented with some 48V parts, and the OS wasn’t what was holding anyone back.

          I can’t say I know the details of the cybertruck or the process used to develop it, but as someone who has been through it, I would bet my shiniest quarter that Tesla wouldn’t pass an ISO26262 audit.

          • FlexibleToast@lemmy.world
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            7 days ago

            It doesn’t have anything to do with voltages. ASIL has to do with rating what things are essential or not. Then I just kind of rambled about how Tesla using a different OS that allows 48v is the only truly cool thing about the Cybertruck.