According to CNBC, Tesla has acquired DeepScale, a Silicon Valley startup that employs low-wattage processors usually found in automotive applications to power more precise computer vision. How much Tesla spent on this purchase? We couldn’t get any detail on it yet.
Tesla has been losing many of its autopilot engineers recently, and this move is made not only to strengthen the automaker’s self-driving technology but also to employ DeepScale engineers’ abilities to compensate for the workforce the company has lost.
Tesla is working hard to install “full self-driving hardware,” which will have the capability to self-drive their EVs entirely on their own. The 3.0 Autopilot hardware is now being installed on all the EVs leaving the factories. Furthermore, Tesla is calling EV owners to come to their facilities and get the upgrade.
The automaker announced earlier to offer a fully self-driving capability by the end of this year, which seems unlikely without the help of DeepScale.
With the 3.0 hardware available, the only thing needed to pursue full autonomy is the new autopilot software. Tesla did release Version 10 recently, named Smart Summon, but it does not offer fully autonomous driving. Even when Tesla releases the desired software, it’s likely that it won’t be fully autonomous. We have to wait and see how this acquisition would help Tesla to achieve its full autonomy dreams.
Source: MotorAuthority