Ok, were a fair few years off commercially available autonomous vehicles.
Automakers can choose when (and if) to turn on certain featuresand its at a price.
This week writerMartin SFP Bryant raised the issue on Twitter in response to the latest Mercedes-Benz update .
All-electric luxury salon Mercedes-Benz EQ has an OTA functionality to modifythe rear-axle steering with a ten-degree steering angle.
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OTA updates have been offered in vehicles since the late 2000s, including media subscriptions and Teslas Caroke.
Martin is not the first person to raise this issue on Twitter.
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Jake Groves (@_jakegroves)March 24, 2021
Night drive in a 530e.
Check control: Function acquirable: The high beam assistant can be acquired in the ConnectedDrive Store.
What are the bigger risks of OTA updates?
However, they raise fundamental questions about how and when we should change a cars functionalities.
First, theres the issue of the subscription model.
Then, theres the issue of how changing functionalities can change a cars status.
Most countries are still grappling with these issues.
It also raises questions around charging drivers an additional fee to unlock a safety feature.
This week, Huawei hadan OTA update patent approvedby the Chinese intellectual property office.
The patent will prevent smart vehicles from experiencing hidden dangers during the update installation.
This could include where and when OTA updates are installed.
This could include driver, OEM, or in the future, vehicle led installations.
Tesla restored total capacity in March 2020.
OTA updates mean personalization.
We could carry our subscription preferences across vehicles as we hire rather than buy.
We can expect them to increase as OEMs compete to deliver new and interesting functionsat a price.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
