Tesla to Release New 'Mind of Car' View With Their Next Update
Jane Lu
· 3 min read
Tesla
is often thought to be on the cutting-edge of technology when it comes to cars, and that’s one of the biggest appeals of the luxury brand. Software is a key piece of the equation for Tesla's
electric vehicles
. Like any software, it routinely gets updated to provide new and better features for Tesla owners. The company has announced that the next software update is coming soon.The upcoming update will include a new user interface (UI) for the company's users. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmed some features that will be included in the upgrade, but not many details have been announced.
What we do know is that the update will include a new "mind of car" view. Here's what Tesla has confirmed about the new features and UI.
Tesla's upcoming software update
The upcoming release features driving visualizations and is currently in early access. It’s being used by select Tesla owners, mainly employees, and the visualizations still resemble a debugging mode. These are expected to get a cleaner look when the FSD Beta is more widely released.
What is the new 'mind of car' view?
Musk has confirmed that a new UI is part of the update and that it will include a "mind of car" view. Although the feature is still fairly ambiguous, "mind of car" view likely refers to the new driving visualizations, which show how the car sees its surroundings.
The visualizations can be a confidence builder for self-driving mode since you’ll know exactly what the car's computer vision system can see.
Currently, objects tend to jump around in the visualizations, but Musk has indicated that this can be fixed in an upcoming release. Tesla has a history of delaying scheduled releases so people aren't quite sure when the update will be released widely. Musk has hinted that it should be coming soon.
The new visualizations will come to all vehicles equipped with the FSD computer (HW3), which includes all Tesla cars manufactured since April 2019.
The software update can improve Tesla vehicle safety
The improved visualizations will be a welcome addition to Tesla's self-driving mode, which came under scrutiny when the company
pulled its radar capability
from its systems. The radar was replaced by a new camera-based "Tesla Vision" feature. Tesla seems to prefer camera-based detection, but it’s often considered less safe than using a radar. Replacing the radar with camera detection caused two major organizations that evaluate car safety to pull safety ratings from Tesla models. Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety both pulled their safety ratings for the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.
Improving the visualizations may lead to higher safety ratings for Tesla, which would help the company ease consumers' minds about the
safety of self-driving cars
. For Tesla owners, better safety features could also lead to lower car insurance rates
.Whether or not you drive a Tesla,
Jerry
can help you save money on car insurance. The free AI-powered app does all the hard work of finding the cheapest quotes from top name-brand insurance companies and buying new car insurance. Jerry will even cancel your old policy for you.
