The race for autonomous driving takes a new turn with the leak of Tesla’s HW4 software by a hacker. The theft of this software, supposedly one of the most advanced in autonomous driving, raises questions about data security in the automotive industry.
A hacker has indeed infiltrated the system of the famous electric car company to steal and divulge the secrets of this highly anticipated system. Experts are already predicting that this leak could have major consequences for the automotive industry and road safety in general.
Tesla develops major autonomous driving update
Tesla has been working on a upgrade of its autonomous driving system for some time now. According to leaked information, the new hardware is called Hardware 4.0 (HW4). It even seems that the autonomous car company is already building vehicles equipped with this improved system.
In addition to this, Tesla has filed an application to add a new radar to its vehicles. This indicates an updated sensor suite for Autopilot and autonomous driving. The Texas-based company is also modifying its cameras according to an application filed with Chinese regulators.
However, it turned out that the manufacturer needed a more powerful computer (HW3) to achieve this, and offered it for free in upgrade to existing owners. Although Tesla will not be providing a retrofit for HW4, CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the company will continue to deliver on its promise of autonomous driving with HW3. The HW4 update will only further improve performance.
Tesla hacker reveals details of new HW4 computer
Green The Only, a well-known Tesla tinkerer and hacker, recently disassembled a new HW4 computer from a new Model X vehicle. Although he found minor improvements and system redundancyhe noted that the new board consumes more power than the previous HW3 board when inactive.
According to the hacker’s observations, Tesla’s new HW4 computer features security improvements. Indeed, Elon Musk has stressed that security is a top priority for the company, particularly given concerns about hacking into autonomous vehicles.
Tesla also appears to include more cameras in the hardware suite. The new cars will carry connectors for 12 cameras instead of the current 8. This means that the automaker is moving towards a vision-based approach.
alerts (esp. with pillar moved forward)?
New GPS module with triband antenna.
The unit itself is big and unmarked, so who makes it is unknown, I would not be surprised if it’s somewhat custom Tesla thing. They carry bootloader for it in firmware. pic.twitter.com/45kpSaw65K– green (@greentheonly) February 15, 2023
Green also found a connection for a new GPS module with a triband antenna. As for camera placement, it appears that all current cameras will be retained. The exception is a two-camera configuration in the windshield, instead of the current three-camera forward-facing configuration. Tesla’s autonomous driving computer connections have also been updated with this HW4 upgrade.