Tesla has 780 million miles of driving data, and adds another million every 10 hours

[ksquared]

From MIT's Technology Review:

Tesla Tests Self-Driving Functions with Secret Updates to Its Customers’ Cars

Very interesting article. Uncle Tesla is watching how you drive, and then silently using what your sensors see to improve autopilot features. This should allow them to stay ahead of the competition, as the amount of data it gathers is rapidly expanding with every new AP-equipped car on the road.

 

[stevezzzz]

I hadn't realized that Tesla was pushing 'silent' updates to test new AP features in real-world conditions, albeit without actually controlling the car. Seems like a smart thing to do.

 

[xkwizit]

Sometime back I read another interview where a Tesla exec said they push updates almost daily to the cars. Also, using AP you can notice the improvements and how its driving capability gets better.
On the other hand I wonder when at times AP behaves erratic if it was due to an update they pushed silently. No way to confirm but eh. They said it's a beta and so when we start using AP we offer ourselves as beta testers. Otherwise just turn it off and wait for when it comes out of beta.

 

[ohmman]

Sometime back I read another interview where a Tesla exec said they push updates almost daily to the cars. Also, using AP you can notice the improvements and how its driving capability gets better.
On the other hand I wonder when at times AP behaves erratic if it was due to an update they pushed silently. No way to confirm but eh. They said it's a beta and so when we start using AP we offer ourselves as beta testers. Otherwise just turn it off and wait for when it comes out of beta.

I (and a few others) have logged our router traffic and haven't noticed daily pushes to the car. I've only been able to watch since I got the X, since my S is a pre-AP vehicle. But the Model S AP thread has some discussion of this, and it doesn't seem like they'r doing any kind of frequent push.

 

[xkwizit]

AP has to receive updates in real time. It cannot be just the builds that get pushed. That's how AP improved like not taking highway exits. The initial version would exit if you're driving in the rightmost lane. And then over a week or so it improved but without a build being pushed. Similarly, I have noticed how slowing down for slower traffic ahead has improved and is more consistent with human driving patterns.

 

[ohmman]

AP has to receive updates in real time. It cannot be just the builds that get pushed. That's how AP improved like not taking highway exits. The initial version would exit if you're driving in the rightmost lane. And then over a week or so it improved but without a build being pushed. Similarly, I have noticed how slowing down for slower traffic ahead has improved and is more consistent with human driving patterns.

You may find this thread interesting. Having fooled around with machine learning models, I'm skeptical of the claims that "real time" data is getting pushed. It doesn't make sense from a model perspective. I'd love more clarity on what's really going on, but for now I hold that the car acts upon a model, which is going to be represented as a chunk of data. That data needs to get to the car on some interval basis, and as of yet we have to see that coming down the wire. Possible (as we mention in the linked thread) that it's happening over LTE, but I think wk didn't see anything when he tethered. I haven't tried to reproduce this.

 

[xkwizit]

In some respects I agree. 4G LTE is not fast enough for the true real time updates like needed for autonomous driving. However, Tesla is definitely updating the onboard computer outside of the builds. Almost everything in that thread you quoted I have noticed/experienced with my S. And even now in between builds I see improvements in AP - noticeable improvements. Situations that I would wish it handles better and voila one day it begins to. All that data that AP feeds to the servers does actually bring the rewards..and it may be chunks of data that get loaded as we drive or whenever but it doesn't wait for a push of the build.

 

[EVie'sDad]

Tesla has 780 million miles of driving data, and adds another million every 10 hours