Pressure is mounting on Tesla to address the ongoing controversies surrounding the company’s Autopilot system in the wake of a driver dying while using Autopilot. The electric carmaker is now pushing forward with plans to release a major update of the software system being used by all Tesla models. Details are scarce on the specifics of these updates, but according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the upcoming update is going to be the biggest and most comprehensive upgrade since the first version of the system. Likewise, the update is expected to come with a new technique that Musk described as “temporal smoothing.” Without sounding too technical, this new function helps the system’s radar see through rain or snow and identify certain objects through their respective contours.
Musk also added that the company is pushing to make other significant improvements on the system, including increased partnerships with Bosch and Mobileye, two of Tesla’s current tech partners responsible for the Autopilot’s radar and some portions of the system, respectively. The updates have taken some time to be implemented, but once they become available through Tesla’s over-the-air software upgrade apparatus, the expectation is that Tesla would have made significant improvements to its Autopilot system.
As advanced as the technology is, the Autopilot hasn’t proven to be as impervious to error as Tesla hoped it would be. It’s already been involved in a number of accidents in recent months, none more devastating than the one that ended with the death of a driver who was using Autopilot at that time of his crash. It’s worth noting that the upgrades are being made with the clear intention of improving the whole user experience of the Autopilot system. It remains to be seen though if these upgrades can do their part in cutting down the number of unintended occurrences happening with Tesla’s Autopilot technology.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
Why it matters
As much as Tesla wants to hype its Autopilot system for being something other automakers have yet to rival, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure that the Autopilot system functions the way it’s supposed to.
A number of incidents have already taken place with people blaming the Autopilot system. Whether the Autopilot system is to blame, it’s still incumbent upon Tesla to make the necessary updates and changes to ensure that it's functioning properly. The talks with Bosch and Mobileye are a positive sign that Tesla isn’t sitting on its laurels. The size and magnitude of the upgrade are still unknown at this point, but apparently, it’s the biggest one that Tesla has made since the first version of Autopilot came out.
Having Bosch and Mobileye in the fold should help a great deal, but until we know more about what this new update contains, it’s going to be subjected to a lot of speculation from a lot of people. Personally, I’m interested to see what improvements are made, largely because Tesla has a lot riding on the success of the Autopilot system. I just hope that it can address whatever bugs exists and help put users in safer a position than they were in the past. What’s the point of having Autopilot if it’s not going to be safe, right?