SerpApi.Org
Starlink is popping up in another of Elon Musk's projects. On Monday, Tesla teased that the upcoming Cybercab will feature a built-in Starlink antenna.
"High-speed internet from space for the future of autonomous vehicles," Starlink tweeted.
Tesla says Cybercabs will feature Starlink's newly released V5 dish on the rear of the vehicle. There will also be a GPS antenna and 5G LTE, giving it alternative ways to connect and navigate. (Tesla recently filed a patent for building radio antennas directly into a car's roof.)
The Starlink integration means the cars will also be able to receive internet access in cellular dead zones, such as remote or rural areas, by connecting to orbiting satellites.
Tesla and SpaceX confirmed the Starlink implementation after an Apple project manager visited the EV maker's showroom in San Jose and posted pictures. The store had a Cybercab on the floor as well as a display mentioning a "Starlink integration." Weeks earlier, a Reddit user also photographed two Cybercabs driving in Austin, Texas, each with a Starlink dish in the rear.
The Starlink integration could bolster internet connectivity inside the Cybercab, including in-car entertainment. Although not as powerful as the standard Starlink dish, the V5 model can offer speeds up to 375Mbps+. The new hardware is also much smaller and lighter, at 2.4 pounds, down from 6.5 pounds, making it easier to fit on a vehicle.
The V5 does have one drawback, though. Starlink says the "V5 is not intended for in-motion use," possibly because it lacks a GPS chip. But Ukrainian repair expert Oleg Kutkov has discovered evidence in Starlink's firmware that the company is developing a special V5 dish called the "rev5_pez_auto_proto1."
"The automotive V5 is the same size as the standard V5, but it has 20 fewer antenna elements: 800 instead of 820. The freed-up space is used to accommodate a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver," Kutkov tweeted. "The standard V5 is intended for stationary use and does not include a GNSS module. The automotive version brings back the good old STA8090 GNSS chip."
Another difference is the new automotive V5 can tolerate "higher operating temperatures before throttling or shutting down," he added.
The Cybercab, a two-passenger electric vehicle, will be vastly different from a traditional car since it won’t feature a steering wheel or pedals. Instead, the passenger is supposed to sit inside and let the car's onboard computer do the rest.
The upcoming vehicle will be part of Tesla’s robotaxi fleet, and the company began initial production in Q2. But for now, Tesla appears to be in the small-scale testing stages with the Cybercab. The company’s earlier self-driving efforts have a controversial safety record.
