This is interesting to me - juxtaposition…

daveo4EV

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Porsche clearly has massive skills in one dimension…

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/porsche-tested-911-gt3-186-144500627.html

Porsche Tested the New 911 GT3 at 186 MPH for 3100 Miles Straight
The company said that the GT3 had to perform flawlessly on this test to meet its durability standards.
but is lacking skills in another dimension…

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...d-problems-post-update.4459/page-9#post-62684

Got a call today that the PCM is bricked and no screens are working. Replacement has to be ordered
I simply found it interesting that all of this was going on this week. Picture if their software was as reliable as their mechanicals.
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REIL

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Taycan 19/08/2019 on the Nardo track.
While the distance and average speed were less than the GT3 and they did not discuss the PCM, screens, OTA modules and other hardware and software bugs etc... the Taycan performed well in the endurance test. Run on a hot day 42C to 54C and 24 hrs. Statistical data at the bottom of the Porsche news article.
Porsche news
https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/201...ce-run-nardo-long-distance-testing-18400.html
Motortrend
https://www.motortrend.com/news/porsche-taycan-range-charging-test/
P.S. Paint scheme/graphics look like the loaner vehicle one of the forums German members was given.
 
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daveo4EV

daveo4EV

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porsche knows how to test/design things for mechanical reliability…the current update process is proving they have room for improvement in their software update design and methods.
 


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daveo4EV

daveo4EV

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festus_mcBitcoin

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Yeah, what scares me though is it's beyond "lacking." If you look at the reviews for their apps, for instance, it's just a solid wall of one star. It's not just that the tech is uninspired or mediocre. It's almost like they've striven to achieve a whole new level of bad.

I swear they must be outsourcing their tech dev to cheap offshore consultancy firms who have little to no understanding of Porsche, or even autos in general. :(
 
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Kingske

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Would there not be a golden future for a specialized software company which provides and maintains a common EV operating system to/for the legacy mech-meisters such as Porsche, an operating system which would then become a de facto industry standard a la Windows? It probably shows that my background is biomedical rather than info tech...
 


festus_mcBitcoin

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Would there not be a golden future for a specialized software company which provides and maintains a common EV operating system to/for the legacy mech-meisters such as Porsche, an operating system which would then become a de facto industry standard a la Windows? It probably shows that my background is biomedical rather than info tech...
I've had similar thoughts. There's got to be some solution that would bring Porsche from a D- to at least to a satisfactory B- level in the software/tech area.

I was a software dev (now retired) in the financial services industry, but I have no idea what it takes to design automobile software, nor if Porsche has some sort of API that potential devs could use. Since there's absolutely nothing to lose at this point, I wonder if it might make sense to open source the Porsche API and let the larger software development community design the apps.

I've never really understood what motivates talented developers to contribute their time for zero compensation on complicated open source products, but I have to believe there are plenty of devs out there who would want to participate in something like this. Nice thing is, even if the project fails, it won't be worse than Porsche's current offering. Why not try?
 

Jhenson29

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I've never really understood what motivates talented developers to contribute their time for zero compensation on complicated open source products
Lots of devs just like programming in their free time and if it contributes to something they use, all the better.

Edit: as opposed to getting paid? They can pick and choose what to work on and at their own pace. Usually when you get paid, you have to do what ever it is you’re getting paid to do. But just usually.
 

Kingske

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I've had similar thoughts. There's got to be some solution that would bring Porsche from a D- to at least to a satisfactory B- level in the software/tech area.

I was a software dev (now retired) in the financial services industry, but I have no idea what it takes to design automobile software, nor if Porsche has some sort of API that potential devs could use. Since there's absolutely nothing to lose at this point, I wonder if it might make sense to open source the Porsche API and let the larger software development community design the apps.

I've never really understood what motivates talented developers to contribute their time for zero compensation on complicated open source products, but I have to believe there are plenty of devs out there who would want to participate in something like this. Nice thing is, even if the project fails, it won't be worse than Porsche's current offering. Why not try?
Major question (I guess): who owns the data being transmitted back from all those millions of EVs on the roads around the world? The OS company (cfr. Google with Android) or the car companies?
 

F16HTON

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Porsche clearly has massive skills in one dimension…

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/porsche-tested-911-gt3-186-144500627.html



but is lacking skills in another dimension…

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...d-problems-post-update.4459/page-9#post-62684



I simply found it interesting that all of this was going on this week. Picture if their software was as reliable as their mechanicals.
Coming from a background in automotive tuning (VW/Audi/Porsche) and the complexity of modern vehicle electronics, I can fully appreciate and understand the issues that the Taycan is facing with software updates.

As a customer, we would love to be able to have over the air (OTS) updates that are delivered flawlessly when we sleep, as that is what we are accustomed to with our current electronics (mobile phones, televisions, refrigerators, etc.) Just turn off automatic updates on your mobile phone device and you will see home many times a week it needs to be updated because of some software issue/incompatibility.

Where is the issues come with the Porsche updates really centers around the fact that the 12V voltage architecture that runs the digital motor electronics and all of the corresponding control modules must see a voltage of 14V (ideally) and cannot drop below 12V (during programming) or there will be a interruption of the programming and potential errors due to incomplete programming. The can bus architecture is very sensitive to any voltage variants as well as the packet delivery process.

Navigating the process to update a Porsche using the current tools (PIWIS) is extremely complicated and is prone to error, even for the most experienced automotive technicians. There are many other variables in place such as network traffic, firewalls, attempts at interception (sniffing the programming) during the process.

However, the most obvious answer is Porsche relies on technical partners such as Bosch and Siemens/Continental to provide the vehicle electronics and subsequent programming/updates to the DME/additional control modules.

I am not attempting to make any excuses for Porsche, just stating that I understand how complex the actual process is and how easy it is to get a programming failure.

My car just arrived in port (San Diego) on April 4th and was placed on a quality action on the 6th. For all I know it could be a programming issue (software update), however it could also be something as simple as minor damage that occurred during transit.

Tesla most certainly deserves credit for avoiding much negative press related to software issues/upgrades. I think as a company/group they have an upper hand on any current automotive manufacturer due to the relationship with SpaceX and how safe, secure and reliable those updates must be.

I have met Tesla/SpaceX software engineers and they are on an entirely different level of any automotive calibrator I have had the pleasure of working with, most certainly world-class.
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