(5) beta testers sought for new technology

Hi The Electric Me,

Your questions are definitely reasonable. As background, we originally designed and built Smartpedal to handle mission-critical defense and transit applications. The consumer version incorporates the same hardware and software, which means that Smartpedal:

• Preserves all OEM safety measures. Nothing is disabled or circumvented.
• Meets current and even proposed federal standards for automotive safety.
• Incorporates a dozen additional hardware and software safety measures internally.

With regard to the last bullet point, I would like Toyota to catch up with regard to pedal safety: among the safety measures Smartpedal incorporates is compliance with the SEI CERT C and MISRA C:2012 standards. Toyota has yet to implement either standard despite adopting both five years ago specifically to address the issue you mentioned.

Another thing to keep in mind is company history. Pedal Logic formed in 2011. We engaged in four years of R&D, including closed-course and open-road testing with OEMS (including passenger cars) before offering our technology for sale. By now our technology has probably been operated over a million miles of roadway by end customers, while carrying tens of thousands of passengers -- with no safety issues ever.

We like that track record for personal and professional reasons. And while it costs a little more to manufacture a high-quality product, I would rather make a little less money and have a lot of happy customers than the other way around.

Marc

 

Hi Beta Testers,
Most of you will receive your Smartpedal beta unit today. Here's a quick summary:

Each unit contains five built-in driving modes. The default is mode 4. Please drive in this mode for about 400 miles, then PM me with your mileage results and opinion of the driving experience. After that, shift to mode 3 and repeat. Then mode 2 and mode 1, which are more conservative versions of modes 4 and 3, respectively.

Mode 4 is right at the edge of a noticeable change for most drivers. We've also included a mode 5 as an experiment, which makes very, very observable changes to vehicle behavior. This is included as an experiment--you can skip if not to your liking.

Any questions? I'll respond as quickly as possible. Thanks for testing!

Marc

 

Hi Beta Testers,

Just iPhone'd a quick install video for anyone who might like extra detail on releasing the latch on the OEM connector and otherwise physically installing Smartpedal:

I should have made it clearer in the video, but when Smartpedal is oriented correctly the small clear plastic piece (for light transmission from the LED) faces the driver.

Also, here's a quick video with more detail on calibration--you can also see my mug:

Best,
Marc

 

Hi Everyone,
I just replaced the original install video with a longer, more detailed version--see posting #24 on this page. It _should_ answer some of the questions.

Also, please don't worry about damage on removal. First thing to know: it's made of polyamide 66 (not ABS) so it has good "memory" and is hard to damage. Second, a small flat screwdriver usually allows for the latch to be released without too much trouble. Third, it just doesn't matter: this is what beta units are for. I can easily replace a damaged unit--and will still appreciate your help testing.

Best,
Marc

 

Kramah313 (& Everyone),

Glad it worked. Based on the feedback on this thread, I think it probably makes sense for us to create "professional" install and calibration videos for all makes/models and include a little card in the package that points installers to those videos. I found while making the video that I could convey much more information and nuance than I could with the written instructions.

BTW, the packaging is temporary. We have the real stuff arriving in 2 months and will look professional. What about the text on the inserts though? Any thoughts on things we should add/change/reduce?

For example, the license/terms of sale text is pretty small--but was it legible? Our goal there wasn't to create fine print per se, but to avoid moving from a 20 to 24-page install-guide/limited-warranty/terms-of-sale booklet for the final product.

 

Will do. I think I'll add a new first page to the insert pointing to the videos and use the three remaining pages (pages are added in series of four) to increase the font size for warranty info.

We went around on this a few times ourselves. We made a judgment call to preserve the pedal method as we were concerned that switches would increase the risk of moisture penetration. This isn't an issue for most (maybe all) Prius owners, but we were concerned about someone using a pressure hose to wash out the cabin of a service truck after a particularly rough day.

But we do plan to increase the brightness of the LED by 3X in a future version. Plus, you'll likely find as I did that you don't even need the look at the LED anymore after you've changed modes a few times. Just wait 75 seconds using a watch and then tap away...

A 5% improvement under those conditions is a good start. Sounds like we have room to improve when the regen is fully engaged.

That sounds likely. The theory of operation for the Prius is so complex that I tend to think that there are also other factors at play. For example, I wonder if eliminating unintentional changes in power output fractionally improves the stoichiometry. Or perhaps it slightly reduces the number of the times when dual-motor operation would otherwise kick in--just the edge cases where the demand is only just over the threshold. There may be other factors too.

That's pretty interesting to read. The feeling you're getting is the probabilistic system catching up to you on the acceleration profile: it's akin to the system thinking to itself over a fraction of a second: hey, he may be accelerating; he looks like he's accelerating; he's definitely accelerating. As confidence increases, the system recovers to the original acceleration profile.

The various modes use different settings to raise or lower this probabilistic threshold. My guess is that you will likely not notice the same in mode 2. However, the MPG gains will be lower because the system will be more conservative before making any changes--even when it "should" make a change.