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Can/will Toyota upgrade the radar brains in feature.

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by shadow4478, Dec 24, 2017.

  1. shadow4478

    shadow4478 Member

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    will Toyota be able to upgrade the brains of this car, as in improve the radar functions make it more like some of the self driving cars, Nissans Auto pilot, tesla etc.....
    of are we stuck with what we have?
     
  2. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    To my knowledge, Toyota only upgrades the firmware of some Prius ECUs to address performance (software bugs), safety, or longevity issues.
     
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  3. pakitt

    pakitt Senior Member

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    We are stuck with what we have.
     
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  4. MichelleStone

    MichelleStone Senior Member

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    I think we are stuck with what we have purchased.
     
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  5. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    No - what you're wanting isn't available on 2017 PRIUS, it seems that 2018 hasn't changed either.

    There is a possibility - albeit slight - that a mid-cycle update might change it, but I suspect that, at the Price-Point of PRIUS, it's not going to happen this soon.

    You need a more expensive car, and even then, they could be listed as extra-co$t options.
     
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  6. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Currently Tesla is the only manufacturer that puts new hardware into old vehicles either for free or with a paid update. No other manufacturer is doing that. You want new features, buy a new car.
     
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  7. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    This would require actual hardware upgrades, not merely simple software updates.

    For a guide to what Toyota will provide for this, look back at what resources Toyota made available to upgrade older Prius generations to get the better MPG of newer generations.

    So far, I have seen only a single upgrade path -- replace the entire vehicle with a new one.
     
    #7 fuzzy1, Dec 25, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 25, 2017
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    toyota has a fairly vanilla upgrade system, they call it trade in and trade up. good for them, expensive for you.
     
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  9. Fester

    Fester Active Member

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    For truly autonomous/semi-autonomous driving they'll be more hardware involved like Lidar (or advanced equivalent) and other sensors, plus alot more processing power required. Even Tesla is saying that more processing power is still needed to process the data from the existing sensor systems, so no we won't be seeing this any time soon, particularly in a base priced vehicle.
     
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  10. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Yes but this is also why all the unnamed leader of luxury electric vehicles may or may not have powerful secondary processors just sitting there completely unused. They put the expensive hardware in upfront so that it can be enabled via a software update.
     
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  11. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    True. There isn't an autonomous car on the road in 2017 - other than experimental ones, which I suspect, being hand-built, could cost many, many times the cost of a humble PRIUS.

    True autonomy will require

    1) substantial improvements to our infrastructure (roads, lane widths can be narrowed, signage, traffic lights etc) and;

    2) cars which will talk to each other - which will probably require vastly improved Wireless/Cellphone communication than we have now. You don't want a drop out or black-spot just as your autonomous car is negotiating a traffic jam - where 1000s of vehicles are using up the bandwidth in the local area trying to talk to each other:
    upload_2017-12-26_10-10-12.png

    As @2k1Toaster said, for PRIUS (or Corolla or Camry or even BMW 5 series) to get to that stage will require a massive redesign of systems which don't exist on any cars at present. And a completely different processor.

    Enjoy your DRCC and LDA, BSM, IPA etc for the next decade while you wait for a true autonomous car to be released.
     
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  12. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    ATM the toys on the G4 Prius are novelties and if you read the manual there are many scenarios of "may not operate under x conditions" so basically I treat them as such. If you want a self driving car, I suspect it will be probably 5 years or so before the manufacturers can guarantee the auto driving systems will work under a minimum number of sufficient conditions to be able to sell them to the public. These cars will basically be an AI robot on wheels, nothing like current vehicles, with very different hardware and software.
     
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  13. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    I would be happy if they just put the owners manual in the car so you could search it on the display. That way it would be there when you need it.
     
  14. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    Mine is kept in the car, but do I ever refer to it there......?
     
    #14 RCO, Dec 28, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2017
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  15. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    I think he meant electronically:D
     
  16. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    For referencing, I'd propose that paper is easier than electronic.
     
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  17. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    And neither one should be used while driving.
    I find the electronic one easier to search, though.
     
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  18. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    True - but not in the car - on the laptop I've got USA and EURO Manuals, in the car is a PAPER Aussie Manual.
     
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  19. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    I'd prefer it if they made everything more intuitive so you didn't need a manual.
    But at least the Prius manual seems to have had some english proof reading input into it, unlike a lot of Chinese to English translated manuals for other stuff.
     
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  20. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    But can a Geordie understand it, I wonder?