# Use of Nvidia in the virtual cockpit



## dink (Jun 18, 2015)

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2955480/ ... phics.html


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

Sounds like the tech in the VC is yesterday's news already. [smiley=book2.gif]


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

Thats one conclusion you could draw... not sure how... but why not.. 
PCworld may have only just seen it. Most of their customers maybe a little behind the times in terms of news, but from a spec point of view its still very well positioned and the upgradability no doubt was a feature requirements for future models.


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

"Nvidia turbocharges the 2016 Audi TT's virtual cockpit with gaming-speed 60fps graphics"

This leads me to the conclusion.By definition if it can be improved then it's not the latest and greatest...


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## Mr R (Mar 1, 2015)

That's actually interesting that the Navigation system uses HERE mapping. There's actually a HERE app you can download to your iPhone/Android device. I seemed to think it was Openstreetmap that they used.


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## ross_cj250 (Mar 1, 2008)

leopard said:


> "Nvidia turbocharges the 2016 Audi TT's virtual cockpit with gaming-speed 60fps graphics"
> 
> This leads me to the conclusion.By definition if it can be improved then it's not the latest and greatest...


Umm, isn't this an American article in PCWorld and the Mk3 hasn't arrived there yet? Due 2016? Surely this is what the current car available here is already capable of?

Regards
Ross


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

Hi Ross,
Not sure of the source but the article's quote:

"In another parallel to PC gaming hardware, the VCM is upgradeable. Audi will be able to swap out the component, so you needn't be stuck with the same old graphics technology for the life of your car."

Suggests this may well be an ongoing upgrade path and the likelihood of the next module being already "in the waiting" I would of thought is highly plausible as technologies don't stand still so in essence the current module is probably outdated already.


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

I would guess the components are more likely to be tailored or built to a car model line, more than anything to do with in car obsolesces. But it also allows Audi to change the specs 5years from now when the processor is out of production without massive design or overhead costs.

This is not a real PC where you will buy the latest x to allow you to display traffic info in UHD...


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## visuar (May 26, 2015)

Audi states it is upgradable: http://www.audiusa.com/newsroom/news/pr ... d-car-expo

All this stuff is in that box with the SD cards and SIM card slot in the glovebox. So in theory that could be swapped out for something newer.

The board with everything on it is apparently called the MultiMedia eXtension (MMX) board. You can see a teardown of it here: http://electronics360.globalspec.com/ar ... t-teardown


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## dbm (Apr 17, 2008)

Mr R said:


> That's actually interesting that the Navigation system uses HERE mapping. There's actually a HERE app you can download to your iPhone/Android device. I seemed to think it was Openstreetmap that they used.


This completes the picture: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33756603


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## TortToise (Aug 22, 2009)

It doesn't really matter what Audi use - it will be fixed in hardware spec and most likely receive very little software enhancement other than bugfixes over the life of the model, maybe 7 years or so.

In contrast, Android and Apple smarthphones and the Android Auto/Apple Carplay interfaces are for sure going to be updated frequently and dramatically over that time frame.

Just had a word with the local VW dealer about possibly getting a Golf R and the Android/Apple connectivity is now available as a £100 option with their Nav systems. Seems like a no-brainer to me - you will get the best, most up to date maps (OK, maybe not with Apple :twisted: ) plus all sorts of features like streaming radio, voice texts or whatever software developers come up with. Plus you'll likely be changing phones every few years and thus constantly upgrading your hardware specs too.


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

I'd pay 2k not to have apples car play, its a complete mess and very dated touch screen which is reported to be very sluggish.
No real integration in to Siri. Apples update schedule mean it will be dropped in two years and then you need the yearly subscription to get updates.

So its basically a tax on the apple eco system for no upsides.
And you're right, the Audi maps will be more upto data than apples.


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## dink (Jun 18, 2015)

I dont know what they've done to Google Maps lately, but its seems that its been a bit of disaster. This is due to using it quite a bit recently in looking for a new house. Lately, its changed my house to be 2 streets away. After being reported & fixed, when you click on street view, for some reason it places you about 10 houses down (even when the marker is at the house). From the many searches Ive done recently, its been a 50/50 chance whether it gets it correct (and thats being generous). Apple should have known better when it got into bed with TomTom at the start (using TomTom a few years ago was totally pointless from my experience), although its been improving a lot recently while Google seems to have took their foot of the pedal & the Apple maps is currently working better for me.


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

Google maps is the pedestal the others are trying to reach.

My last experience of apple maps in Dallas two/three weeks ago was a complete disaster and we ended up going to google. The Dallas topgolf driving range is in a trailer park apparently... :roll:


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## Mr R (Mar 1, 2015)

TortToise said:


> In contrast, Android and Apple smarthphones and the Android Auto/Apple Carplay interfaces are for sure going to be updated frequently and dramatically over that time frame.
> 
> Just had a word with the local VW dealer about possibly getting a Golf R and the Android/Apple connectivity is now available as a £100 option with their Nav systems. Seems like a no-brainer to me - you will get the best, most up to date maps (OK, maybe not with Apple :twisted: ) plus all sorts of features like streaming radio, voice texts or whatever software developers come up with. Plus you'll likely be changing phones every few years and thus constantly upgrading your hardware specs too.


That's my thinking. I buy the latest iPhone every year, and as we know iOS gets updated frequently. Bringing the latest software into the car by linking it with CarPlay seems the best way to ensure you have the latest features / maps etc.


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## Mr R (Mar 1, 2015)

dink said:


> I dont know what they've done to Google Maps lately, but its seems that its been a bit of disaster. This is due to using it quite a bit recently in looking for a new house. Lately, its changed my house to be 2 streets away. After being reported & fixed, when you click on street view, for some reason it places you about 10 houses down (even when the marker is at the house). From the many searches Ive done recently, its been a 50/50 chance whether it gets it correct (and thats being generous). Apple should have known better when it got into bed with TomTom at the start (using TomTom a few years ago was totally pointless from my experience), although its been improving a lot recently while Google seems to have took their foot of the pedal & the Apple maps is currently working better for me.


Seen something similar myself. New housing estate which Apple maps know about, Google sort of does, but doesn't know the street names.


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

Perhaps I'm being a bit thick here,but doesn't Audi update the maps and facilities automatically through a built in sim card like BMW does?


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

Yep, but it's the normal apple mentality - people can't see beyond the eco system.
Car play is a complete mess. The examples are not around the Audi system, more other systems.

Said the person with 4 macs, 4 iPhones, 5 ATVs and 5 iPads... but I'm not buying anymore apple products are in reality poor.


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## TortToise (Aug 22, 2009)

Toshiba said:


> Yep, but it's the normal apple mentality - people can't see beyond the eco system.
> Car play is a complete mess. The examples are not around the Audi system, more other systems.
> 
> Said the person with 4 macs, 4 iPhones, 5 ATVs and 5 iPads... but I'm not buying anymore apple products are in reality poor.


I don't disagree with the notion that Apple is over-rated but whatever the rough edges on their automotive UI, you can be sure that it will improve (as with Android).

On the other hand, I would be extremely surprised if I saw any real advance in what Audi are offering in their UI or feature set, other than fixing obvious bugs. Certainly my RNS-E (Nav Plus) is a solid but unremarkable product that was never really improved despite the potential of the hardware to do a lot more.

Maybe that's colouring my opinion but I'd trust Google and Apple to do more to develop and enhance their interfaces.


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## Dash (Oct 5, 2008)

Frankly I'd rather an android platform so you can load your own mapping applications if you want. Google maps is fine in places, but I chop and change between Google, CoPilot and Openstreetmap on my phone depending on what I'm doing.

Anyway, as a PC gamer, 60fps is the bear minimum that is tolerated due to TFT technology having been unable to break that speed for a long time. I held onto my CRT until it died so I could get higher frame-rates - luckily you can get higher ones on monitors these days. I think you need to break 72fps before things start to become unnoticeable.


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