OTA updates are simply a cost reduction solution to cheaply push out fixes for faulty software.
ota updates are a simpler and quicker way of correcting issues missed during the development process and while it could save costs because it prevents the need for a physical return and update of the device.
That’s largely what I said… a cheap way to fix faults that management let slip through via reduced focus because it’s easy to fix faults later on
i totally understand your concern too, the idea of a vehicle that can be manipulated via the internet does not sit well but with software development as it is could you imagine needing to take your "future" vehicle to the dealer every time there is an issue.
I can imagine going to the dealer. In fact I’d prefer to take it to the dealer. Why, we’ll if the update borks my car, then the dealer must provide a resolution which I’d expect in the short term should be a loaner car while they sort things out… It’s better that OTA and my borked car sitting in my garage with me being stuck on the phone with the car manufacturers technical support script junkies trying to walk me through getting it back on the road… Fcuk that… Been their with BIOS updates that borked my PC and the manufacturer had to be pushed to fix it…
In my view, as long as the vehicle control systems are physically segregated from the consumer fluff and the internet, then one would expect recalls and updates would be less frequent and the system secure... It may require more development time before release but that’s better than having thousands of alpha testers running around our roads.
Sadly OTA will be a big thing going forward but such has nothing to do with the benefit to consumers and all to do with the benefit to manufacturers. Reduced software repair costs (cause that’s what fault fix update are, repair of defective software) and the ability to push new features (and remove others) for their hollowed subscription model more effectively. The later subscription model is probably the thing that has manufacturers salivating even more… It’s a model I simply don’t like and it’s a model that requires OTA connectivity.
… download the fix to say a usb stick and apply it yourself but then what about the computer illiterate people or the ones that just have no interest in their vehicle apart from a to b, they could be driving with critical issues unpatched
OTA update is and should never be a replacement for recall notices and the systems that sit behind it for any safety related software issue. Regulators still have and must still play a part in such safety related issues.
… again there is no way a manufacturer is going to find every flaw before release so what is the only option for the masses moving forward?
it has to be ota updates or recalls forcing people to return to dealer.
Problem is that when you set up a system like OTA updates, where fault fixes are cheap to push, the impetus to find as many faults as possible before the product is released is reduced. In essence such leads to lower quality software being released, just as software quality must increase for safety’s sake as complexity increases.
TTM can’t be getting shorter as driving become more automated… Regulators must play a more active role in ensuring manufacturers spend the correct amount of effort to ensure the systems they sell are safe. You can’t put customer convenience above product safety…
You just have to look at Boeing and thei 737 max MCAS clusterfuck where they were signing off compliance on stuff they knew they should. These airframes and their systems require much more effort and to be classified as a new airframe, with all the pilot training that requires, but that wasn’t in Boeings interest as it needed to get to market else Airbus would have made too much gain into their market… greed strikes again… along with death for innocents
Set the bar lower and things bet much worse than what we can even imagine. I see OTA as setting the quality bar lower…
You see OTA updates as improving quality for the
alpha and beta product purchasers… thing is that products should be safe when put on the market, not made safe after…
