April Fools!: Magic Sky Windows - Testing

TEG, I'm sure this crossed your mind. If not, I doubt I'm talking to the normal TEG.

"Magic Sky Alpha" sounds like a reference to the Mercedes adjustable tinting.
2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK MAGIC SKY CONTROL Roof | eMercedesBenz

I see what you did there!

Aw man, now I want this. Do I have a problem?

@TEG - I remembered the "Magic Sky" name because I wished back when that Tesla would work out something to get this tech. on the Model S. I mean... everybody who balks at the other Mercedes parts (stalks!) would gladly let that go for a magic sky pano roof (I suspect).

That is sick. And by that, I mean I want this option on my Model X. Tesla, make it happen!

so then the question becomes why the heck would they plaster the name of this in-testing feature all over the door sills of the test vehicle? Seems crazy to advertise that they're testing it.

Well, very little gets past TEG....

My car was at Tesla for two days last week, I have a mail out to see if I can get permission to talk about it.

brianman said:

TEG, I'm sure this crossed your mind. If not, I doubt I'm talking to the normal TEG.

"Magic Sky Alpha" sounds like a reference to the Mercedes adjustable tinting.
2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK MAGIC SKY CONTROL Roof | eMercedesBenz

Click to expand...

Sounds like the same tech they put in conference room windows. Hellishly expensive, last time I was quoted.

Any one know how it works?

Found it searching: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_glass

Apparently the company behind it is Research Frontiers: http://www.refr-spd.com/

"The Research Frontiers licensees involved with the production of the MAGIC SKY CONTROL roof for the SLK include Hitachi Chemical, which manufactures the SPD-Smart light-control film in Japan and has recently announced its capacity to manufacture 4.3 million square feet of SPD film per year. Automotive glass companies Nippon Sheet Glass in Japan and Pilkington in the UK and Germany then process and laminate Hitachi’s SPD film into the glass for the MAGIC SKY CONTROL roof. SPD Control Systems and Research Frontiers have jointly licensed intellectual property to Daimler AG regarding the electronics to control the SPD-SmartGlass in the Mercedes-Benz SLK and other vehicles."

Ummm, guys ... I'm guessing this cat wasn't supposed to be let out of the bag.

bonnie1194 said:

Ummm, guys ... I'm guessing this cat wasn't supposed to be let out of the bag.

Click to expand...

Really tough to stuff it back in once it's out, though :smile:

It uses electricity to work which the Model S has a bit of. Nice.

bonnie1194 said:

Ummm, guys ... I'm guessing this cat wasn't supposed to be let out of the bag.

Click to expand...

OK, heard back that I have permission to talk about it in a limited way and no photos of the windows themselves....

Yes it works, and it seems to be an adaptation of the Daimler concept. The windows had to be replaced and Tesla installed various sensors inside the car to measure temperature and UV ingress; I have no idea what it all costs but I'm told that after the test they will remove the sensors and I get to keep the windows, in return I do have to keep a weather log for a couple of months (oh the hardship! :wink

The magic sky windows operate on a slider bar on the touch screen so you can adjust settings to your personal preference depending on light/sun conditions. The software shows it as an extra tab and it's not all finalized yet, it looks like the pano roof slider but doesn't show a side picture of the car yet. I'm waiting on approval to show a photo of the touch screen.

And yes, I believe there are a couple of other folks beta testing it in hot climates.

Thx NigelM, excellent news and congrats to the windows :biggrin:

Not allowed to show the full screen, but here's how it's controlled:

Too much to hope for that this would be a retrofit in the future? Obviously for somewhat big $$$. Well maybe on my Gen III then.

Great find, and this is super exciting.

Given that testing has been occurring on client vehicles (being retrofitted) and given the history of upgrade announcements for the roadster, I would definitely think this is a retrofit possibility. Not to mention, you want to encourage early adopters, not discourage them by releasing something 6-9 months later that the initial people cannot have.

As for gen III, I think this would be a more upscale product, not designed or marketed to the "budget / everyday crowd" but that's just imo.