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Issue link: https://adp.epubxp.com/i/181113
by Gary S. Vasilash > Editor-In-Chief q The Tesla Model S uses Tegra processors for its instrument cluster and the touchscreen in the center stack. The carmaker is able to make upgrades over the air to its system. Which brings us back to the LEAF. Shapiro says that when the Tesla Model S frst came out, some customers of the car didn't like the fact that when they took their foot of the brake, the car didn't creep forward like nonelectric vehicles do. So Tesla engineers developed a selectable function called "Creep," and updated the system overthe-air. The customers climbed into their vehicles one morning, and voila! there was a new function. He maintains that going forward, customers are going to download apps for their cars. "They can add new capabilities and enhance the value over time, rather than the car just depreciating," he says. This is not something that is going to be done at the dealership, but remotely. Tired of that digital instrument cluster? Download a new one. According to Hughes, the "holy grail" for automotive displays has been creating a tachometer with an indicator that moves smoothly and looks electromechanical. Information about vehicle operating parameters are taken from the CAN bus, and the signal is then processed to render graphics that represent the input signal. Then it is through the video output to the LED display. In real time. It's like high-end gaming systems. It isn't something that's canned or preplanned. It is rendered on-the-fy. (Shapiro talked with designers at an OEM about digital instrument clusters. "They were proud of the fact that they have 250 screens that they designed in Photoshop. That makes no sense from a productivity standpoint. We have zero screens designed because we create beautiful, realistic content as needed; it is dynamic, it is not hard-baked.") Like game developers and flm makers, the OEMs or Tier One suppliers can create the 3D elements for their instrument clusters using software like Autodesk 3ds Max or Maya (autodesk.com) and then render it with UI Composer toolchain from NVIDIA. The result is the sort of high-fdelity images that consumers are familiar with from their other electronic products. As OEMs install more cameras and radar sensors into their vehicles, there is a need to have high processing capability. This will become more the case as there are moves toward autonomous driving. Arguably, a supercomputer on a chip— like the Tegra—would be more than up to that challenge. 47