Tesla’s “Enhanced AutoPilot” Is Being Rolled Out This Week

Tesla is pushing out software updates to 1,000 selected Model S and Model X vehicles this week. These vehicles are equipped with its Autopilot 2.0 hardware, and Tesla would like to improve its new software to a level of parity with its original Autopilot release. This update will be followed by a global rollout to all the other Tesla vehicles now operating in Shadow Mode. Some owners of Model S cars and Model X SUVs have already begun reporting on the effects of the new Enhanced Autopilot, otherwise known as Version 8.0.

Autopilot 1

The first Autopilot was released in September of 2014, consisting of only front-facing radar, a single camera, and a 360-degree ultrasonic sensor. A year later came the first update (Version 7.0) and features like Autopark and Autosteer. While the new update led to considerable improvement in these features, the sensor system was still quite limited.

Data Collection

Shadow Mode refers to Tesla’s smart technology wherein the software compares the decisions of the human operator against the driving algorithms developed for Autopilot. This helps to suggest improvements. Data is gathered from the array of eight cameras (including front and rear-facing triple cameras) and 12 ultrasonic sensors surrounding the newer vehicles. The cameras include both wide-view “fisheye” lenses (for monitoring adjoining lanes or detecting pedestrians), as well as forward and rear cameras capturing 25-degree and 50-degree views. Tesla engineers use the data gathered from this system to “train” the software until it’s capable of making better and faster decisions than human beings.

Though the new hardware array has only been in production since October of last year, Tesla has apparently become satisfied with the data generated and is moving forward. In fact, the car maker has been gathering vehicle data since the release of Autopilot 1.

Enhanced Autopilot

Autopilot 2.0 is expected to include Forward Collision Warnings, Traffic Cruise Control, and Low-Speed Autosteer capabilities. The speed limitations of the older Autosteer feature are currently 35 mph, but this is still in Beta mode and the speed cap is expected to rise following the worldwide rollout.

The selected Tesla owners at first reported little change, but ongoing recalibrations are smoothing out the process and showing improvements. Owners are likely to see a yellow error message that the hardware is under calibration, but the software is able to resolve the issue within a few miles or a few days, and the new Autopilot features become operational.

Hardware Alternatives

Though Tesla has experimented with lidar (laser scanning) sensors, for now its sticking with radar, in part because ultrasonic frequencies are better able to penetrate rain and fog than lasers can. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has commented that lidar “cloud maps” (3D arrays of laser-mapped points) as well as additional radar antennae might both be used in future hardware configurations. He’s also confirmed that Tesla is ending its partnership with tech giant Mobileye, which provided the basis for these systems, with the goal of developing future Tesla hardware in-house.

Future Autopilot Versions

Future Autopilot update releases will also be pushed to Tesla’s fleet of vehicles. The newer and more comprehensive sensor suite, it’s hoped, will accelerate the arrival of level 3 and even level 4 autonomous vehicles – self-driving Teslas.
Musk’s August, 2016 comment that “What we’ve got will blow people’s minds” isn’t quite there yet. But it’s coming.