(5) beta testers sought for new technology

Hi Everyone,

Just a reminder, the installation video is post #24 (way back) on page 2 of the thread.

After installation, there is an optional (but recommended) one-time calibration, which involves powering up the pedal with the engine off (i.e., turn on ACC mode) and then pressing the pedal to metal briefly followed by a full release.

If you forget, don't worry--everything's still safe and the device will calibrate itself over 1-2 days of driving.

NEXT POST: how to use the advanced driving modes.

Marc

 

Hi Everyone (again),


We JUST changed how to engage and use the advanced driving modes. Here's a quick guide:

Overview:

Some cars power up the accelerator pedal when the key hits the ignition; others power up when the driver approaches the vehicle; and still others power up when a door opens. We needed a method that could handle all these situations.

Solution:

Smartpedal boots up in a fraction of a second once the pedal circuit is powered. After it boots, Smartpedal looks for the first activity by the driver's foot on the pedal. If the driver presses pedal-to-metal (P2M) for a full 60 seconds as the first pedal activity, Smartpedal enters the mode-change function.

You don't have to count the 60 seconds though. During that 60 seconds of P2M, the built-in LED will flash red once a second. Starting at 61 second, the LED will flash red twice a second.

If the pedal is released after that 61 seconds, a 10-second window opens up to receive a new mode via the number of P2M pushes. So, for example, if you want Mode 2, then push P2M twice and release the pedal fully. After the 10-second window closes, the LED will flash orange the number of times equal to the new driving mode.

Safety:

Use common sense and do this on a flat surface with the parking brake fully engaged. Also, of course, make sure that the engine is NOT on, just the pedal is powered up. If that doesn't happen with the doors or key fob approaching, then just tap the power button to turn on the ACC but not start the motor.

Bonus Secret Feature:

We implemented pedal remapping, which activates if you hold P2M for >120 seconds at first touch--the LED flashes red four times a second if you hold the pedal this long. Please do not use this feature though as it doesn't make sense for the Prius (and won’t improve mileage).

Questions? Please let me know and I'll respond as quickly as I can.

Marc

 

Hi Everyone,

ONE MORE IMPORTANT THING:
We shipped or will ship Extremis units to everyone who already ordered. Based on the results of drivers to date, you are likely to get the best mileage in either Mode 2 or Mode 3. For example, we just clocked a 2014 Prius v at 44 mpg with continuous AC usage in Mode 3 during the local heatwave. However this may be anomalous; most Prius seem to do better in Mode 2.

Experiment, and if you want to change modes, use the procedure in the post immediately above . (The default is 3, fyi.) We included the other modes for pushing the boundaries later, but we strongly recommend Mode 2 initially.

Marc

 

Hi 04priusnow,

We actually did that about 6 months ago as an experiment. There were some challenges along the way: size and power consumption chief among them. The biggest though turned out to be the water-resistant housing: at 3MM it's fairly thick as housings go and tends to dampen sound considerably. In the end, we didn't find a solution that worked. If I can, I'll try and dig up a photo of the Franken-pedal we hand soldered to built it.

Marc

 

Hi 04priusnow,

You're right, it was about preserving the IP rating. We actually did develop a Smartpedal CANbus version, but nixed it as the OBD2-to-pedal wire harness made us very anxious with regard to a few issues (chiefly, risk of entanglement).

Marc

P.S. For those who want to find out about the "other" IP, this site has a very clear explanation of the dust- and water-resistance ratings. (IP Rating Chart | DSMT.com)

 

Hi hackenfort,

Excellent results--thanks for your report. I have the same year/model as you and am running Smartpedal in Mode 2. The results are generally better than Mode 3, by 1-2 miles, so you may want to drive 2 as well.

May I quote you on our website and/or Kickstarter campaign? If you have time and don't mind doing it, a photo of you in front of your car would be nice to add to the quote. The pictures get shrunk down to 200x200 pixels, so there's not much detail, but I think it helps people to understand it's a real quote and not made up by the website.

More about Kickstarter in the next post.

Marc

 

Hi Everyone,

We've turned off pre-orders for now in preparation for our Kickstarter campaign. We plan to use the campaign to fund Smartpedal production for a broad selection of vehicle makes/models/years.

In the meantime, we plan to fulfill the last of the current pre-orders using our remaining FA housings. These FA housings are the samples we receive to confirm quality in advance of the full production run.

If people want to be notified about the Kickstarter campaign, send me a PM with your contact info and I'll follow up with you when we launch. We'll put together some sort of special deal for everyone, of course.

Marc

 

Hi daike99,
Thanks for bringing this up. We saved enough FAs to do that now. Just send them in and I'll replace them.

Marc

 

Hi daiske99,

You're right, and no the rule hasn't changed. You just caught me temporizing. I'm full up on work, so had hoped to delay building these units later in the week instead of earlier. That may not be fair to the testers though, so I'll go ahead and do it today and send them out early this week.

Marc

 

Hi Beta Testers,

We'll have all the production units shipped by tomorrow morning. If you don't have a return label to send back the pre-production unit, that's okay--just let me know via PM and I'll include a duplicate with the outbound shipment in the morning.

Marc