Jeff Wilke (Re:Build founder) sees Slate as a potential autonomous vehicle platform

[Adam W]

Interesting look at where Jeff Wilke sees Slate going in the future. First build a solid vehicle platform that's user extensible. Let users hack on it to add a self driving vehicle software and sensor stack. Or potentially partner with another company (Waymo?) that's doing the same. But it all starts with the foundation, and opening up the internal interface components needed to let users do whatever they want.

Short article with the interview transcript: https://abigailbassett.substack.com/p/is-the-basic-25k-ev-by-slate-auto

Relevant pull-quote:

Jeff Wilke: Yeah, so, if you, if you decompose the car, you’ve got the sort of electromechanical stuff, yeah, and then you have the software stack that runs out on top, and while we are not focused on the software stack, we have built a base electromechanical vehicle that looks awesome, and that that base vehicle can have all kinds of things over time added to it by the consumer. So we publish the interfaces, both electrical and mechanical interfaces, so people can do whatever they want to do. At some point, you can imagine them adding sensors, compute, and turning it into an autonomous vehicle, if that’s what they want to do, and I can also imagine the base vehicle being a platform down the road for the most affordable autonomous vehicle, where we partner with somebody who’s got an autonomous stack.

 

[1yeliab_sufur1]

Interesting look at where Jeff Wilke sees Slate going in the future. First build a solid vehicle platform that's user extensible. Let users hack on it to add a self driving vehicle software and sensor stack. Or potentially partner with another company (Waymo?) that's doing the same. But it all starts with the foundation, and opening up the internal interface components needed to let users do whatever they want.

Short article with the interview transcript: https://abigailbassett.substack.com/p/is-the-basic-25k-ev-by-slate-auto

Relevant pull-quote:

ILL PAY XD i have been in waymos a couple of times now and god just getting to relax in the back and chill is awesome max id pay idk 5-6k with financing XD 1-3k if out right. plus imagine working getting up in the morning and just having a chill drive to work (me i want that chill drive)

 

[EV Trek]

Please no..

 

[Tom Sawyer]

What could possibly go wrong with amateurs making self-driving cars on public roads? And why do I hear warning sirens?

 

[Trace26]

What could possibly go wrong with amateurs making self-driving cars on public roads? And why do I hear warning sirens?

Actually already been done, forgot what the project is called, but wouldn't exactly call them "amateurs" tho.
Edit: I found it https://comma.ai/openpilot

 

[Luxrage]

I posted this in another thread talking about adding it to the Slate, but Linus of Linus Tech Tips has had Comm.ai installed on his Corolla for quite a while. He posted a collection of his findings using it last month:

 

[E90400K]

Read as "corporate liability avoidance".

 

[Johnologue]

Jeff Wilke: Yeah, so, if you, if you decompose the car, you’ve got the sort of electromechanical stuff, yeah, and then you have the software stack that runs out on top, and while we are not focused on the software stack, we have built a base electromechanical vehicle that looks awesome, and that that base vehicle can have all kinds of things over time added to it by the consumer. So we publish the interfaces, both electrical and mechanical interfaces, so people can do whatever they want to do.

While I'm vocally against autonomous vehicles, I was thinking and hoping along the same lines. Slate makes a modular electromechanical platform compartmentalized from software, with as many interfaces as possible to build on top of.

I'd call it a Hardware-Defined Vehicle.
If it's enough to support autonomy modules, I think that's really cool. Safe to run unsupervised on public roads, almost certainly never (which isn't different from the rest of autonomy, as far as I'm concerned).

I think it would be a really cool showcase of Slate's extensibility as a platform, if nothing else.

 

[Fidget]

It would be a lot of work to get comma.ai and OpenPilot working on a Slate. Not impossible, though. I can't find it now, but quite a while ago I read / watched video about shoving a comma 3 devkit into a '60's VW bus. In the end, "It identified as a Toyota Corolla" if I remember correctly. They took all the sensors out of that as a donor car and then set up OpenPilot accordingly.

I want to see one of you guys do it first.

 

[1yeliab_sufur1]

if it gets to level 4-5 and slate is still top safety pick i sleep in the bed have it have a wake up alarm bam but that future is far off right now.

It would be a lot of work to get comma.ai and OpenPilot working on a Slate. Not impossible, though. I can't find it now, but quite a while ago I read / watched video about shoving a comma 3 devkit into a '60's VW bus. In the end, "It identified as a Toyota Corolla" if I remember correctly. They took all the sensors out of that as a donor car and then set up OpenPilot accordingly.

I want to see one of you guys do it first.

Bet open a go fund me xD

 

[Johnologue]

This might alienate me a bit from the local culture here, but for a long time I've been REALLY resisting the urge to pitch a Slate partner/sponsorship to some popular streamers who plan to give an AI character control of a full-size vehicle (they've already tested it with one of those powerwheels-like toy cars for kids to ride in).
As a fun experiment, not a practical public roads thing.

The robotics engineer on the project was actually asked if they would need to use a car that already had self-driving, and they explained that it would probably be more difficult.

To paraphrase, "...basically, the more a car is willing to do for you, the harder it is to get into the system and tell it what to do manually [...] and the less a car is willing to do for you, the easier it is to get into that car and control what it does."

With that quote, the point that the Slate is very much a car that "does less for you", the modification-friendly design, low cost, and the possibility of a fun wrap that fits the brand/character, it's like a perfect fit.

It would also show off the Slate Truck and its customization/versatility to a very large (and apparently well-funded) audience.

 

[Mr.Mike94103]

I like this idea. The Slate is likely to be the last car I buy, it would be nice if it could do the driving when I get older and grouchy and don't feel like driving...

 

[sodamo]

I like this idea. The Slate is likely to be the last car I buy, it would be nice if it could do the driving when I get older and grouchy and don't feel like driving...

Yea, I could see it as a second life and I need a “driver”