R2 prototype in the wild with roof rack (2/26/26 @ Redwood City)

[Chris T]

Just saw this wrapped R2 doing some sensor testing in Redwood City...love the size of this vehicle. Hope my early reservation gets me a chance to own one soon. Looking forward to more info on 3/12!

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[crow979]

Anyone have an idea what the roof rack is used for? Between the wiring and the extensions beyond the vehicle, I'm guessing this is some sort of ADAS test rig. Anyone have better information?

 

[Dark-Fx]

Anyone have an idea what the roof rack is used for? Between the wiring and the extensions beyond the vehicle, I'm guessing this is some sort of ADAS test rig. Anyone have better information?

Those look like the lidar units that will be going above the windshield on the R2. Could be they are testing them out for additional applications.

 

[tivoboy]

This looks like some type of satellite array..could be TV or other feeds or some type of high accuracy GPS. (Military grade that would give down to 1ms.

https://elcapitan.com/products/kvh-...f-D2QyYW9muMHptfbBB2LHgUDCBn5WY6AZG3-KL6WtBH1

 

[dleepnw]

its an ADAS validation testing rig

 

[ElGuano]

Looks like a multi-lidar/camera/sensor rig. My guess: it's not meant to replicate the sensor suite on the cars (like for R2 Gen2). It's for "ground truth" validation. They drive the car and record the data the car sees from its built-in sensors. The roof rig is also recording, but it has way more sensors and way more accurate ones. So they use the rig's data as the definitive source of truth and compare the car's output it to it, as a way to determine if the car's sensors are accurate and doing what they're supposed to.

 

[captainjp]

Ground truthing has begun

 

[csharp]

It is the optional drone attachment. I'm sure it will deliver s00n, just like the camp kitchens! /s

 

[Dasoss]

This looks like some type of satellite array..could be TV or other feeds or some type of high accuracy GPS. (Military grade that would give down to 1ms.

https://elcapitan.com/products/kvh-...f-D2QyYW9muMHptfbBB2LHgUDCBn5WY6AZG3-KL6WtBH1

GPS receivers that access the military "p" code are classified by the DOD ( i guess DOW now). They are rarely used, since the loss of one requires changing the encryption codes for the entire fleet. It would be impossible for a civilian to get one.
There are available systems that are capable of measuring relative position with extreme accuracy (cm). These work by tracking the phase of the carrier rather than the CDMA pseudorandom code from the satellites. They measure position relative to a reference receiver, rather than absolute position. The receivers must communicate directly with the reference receiver. The high precision GPS systems are widely used in surveying and agriculture. They can also provide accurate heading (compass) information independent of the earth's magnetic field.

 

[VandalSibs]

GPS receivers that access the military "p" code are classified by the DOD ( i guess DOW now).

Not legally. The name can only be fully changed by an act of Congress, which hasn't happened yet (and I'm guessing won't happen any time soon). All the DoW crap is just the administration wanting to sound tough.

 

[tivoboy]

GPS receivers that access the military "p" code are classified by the DOD ( i guess DOW now). They are rarely used, since the loss of one requires changing the encryption codes for the entire fleet. It would be impossible for a civilian to get one.
There are available systems that are capable of measuring relative position with extreme accuracy (cm). These work by tracking the phase of the carrier rather than the CDMA pseudorandom code from the satellites. They measure position relative to a reference receiver, rather than absolute position. The receivers must communicate directly with the reference receiver. The high precision GPS systems are widely used in surveying and agriculture. They can also provide accurate heading (compass) information independent of the earth's magnetic field.

One certainly doesn’t have to go to a DoD or Military spec system to get substantially better signal clarity, integrity and accuracy than the current predominant L1 North American standard.. These are essentially equal In LOCATION PRECISION at least to any military spec network and service.

There are several global (that also cover NA) GNSS systems that provide essentially the same accuracy which is of course what any current ADAS system would required..having reduced the predicted location footprint by >70%..now down to 10’s of CM, vs. 10’s of meters.

Over on the Tesla forums, many report that one of the continued deficiencies with some older~ >2-3 years or older HW3 specs cars are never going to be able to do full comprehensive FSD since they don’t have the ability to receive or interpolate the L5 signals or the ability to process them.. and provide much higher on the earth precision of location.. of course FSD is MOSTLY vision based, and Rivian will most likely be VISION+LIDAR, they both will continue to use GNSS systems to validate and make some adjustments to positioning and location awareness.

 

[AlphaSnowbordergirl]

There are several global (that also cover NA) GNSS systems that provide essentially the same accuracy which is of course what any current ADAS system would required..having reduced the predicted location footprint by >70%..now down to 10’s of CM, vs. 10’s of meters.

My fitness watch uses GNSS (one of the higher end Garmins). According to it, I'm often running in the street and crossing the street multiple times a run. It's accurate up to a certain amount of feet, but definitely not to 10s of cm consistently. You definitely want the consistent accuracy.

 

[ElGuano]

IIRC, raw GPS is typically accurate up to several meters. The faster you go, the better the relative accuracy. The Garmin watches (and many other portable devices like phones) can access multiple constellations to hit more satellites and get better triangulation, but if you're running, your accuracy will be greatly affected by how you swing your arms. If you keep your arm static and raised in front of you (try running a few miles like that), you'll notice marked improvements in accuracy.

I recall there were some ground based radio systems that offer enhanced local GPS accuracy. They have ground truth on their own precise location, and they broadcast the offset from the satellites they track, which corrects errors down to cm scale. Is that still a thing?

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