Tesla Autopilot 3D labeling improvements and a "Reverse Smart Summon" feature will be coming soon, at least according to CEO Elon Musk. The upcoming updates will likely be optimized for Hardware 3, which is being rolled out to the company's vehicles today.
The Tesla CEO was responding to a Twitter post this weekend when EV enthusiast Anner J. Bonilla asked him about the rollout of a "reverse summon" feature. Reverse summon has not been discussed much by Elon Musk. However, he noted late last year that Tesla intends to release a "Smart Parking" feature, likely as a companion for Smart Summon, a Full Self-Driving function that allows electric cars to drive from a parking spot to a designated location without a driver.
Back when Musk mentioned Smart Parking, he stated that he expects the first iterations of the feature to be released in a few months. In his recent Twitter conversation, Musk noted that it would not be long before Tesla releases the function, though the company would need to finish some core Autopilot work first. "We need to finish work on Autopilot core foundation code & 3D labeling, then functionality will happen quickly. Not long now," Musk wrote.
We need to finish work on Autopilot core foundation code & 3D labelling, then functionality will happen quickly. Not long now.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2020
Musk's mention of 3D labeling is notable, especially since he emphasized the practice's importance during the Q4 Earnings Call. When asked about upcoming Autopilot improvements, Musk proved optimistic, stating that Tesla is pretty efficient when it comes to labeling.
"I was hoping it would be feature-complete with both FSD by the end of last year. We got pretty close. It's looking like we might be feature-complete in a few months… And what isn't obvious regarding Autopilot and Full Self-Driving is just how much work has been going into improving the foundational elements of autonomy. And we're only beginning to take full advantage of the Autopilot hardware and the FSD hardware.
"The apparent progress, as seen by consumers, will seem to be extremely rapid, but actually what's really going on my head it seems like that is just having the foundational software be very strong and we've got a really strong foundation. And then a really fundamental thing is moving to video training. So in terms of labeling, labeling with video in all eight cameras simultaneously. This is a really, I mean in terms of labeling efficiency, arguably like a three order of magnitude improvement in labeling efficiency. For those who know about this, it's extremely fundamental, so that's really great progress on that," Musk explained.
Tesla's rollout of advanced features such as the aforementioned "reverse summon," which is likely a self-parking function, as well as improved 3D labeling, will all ride on the capabilities of the company's custom-designed Hardware 3 computer. These upcoming updates will likely tap into more of HW3's true capabilities, which are still yet to be utilized today. As Elon Musk noted on Twitter, these recent optimizations will come with noticeable improvements, one of which is better visualization in the company's vehicles.
Featured Image Credit: Tesla
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