Tesla Motors yesterday (Sept. 11) announced the latest version of its Autopilot self-driving software for its cars, Version 8.0.
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A Tesla driver was killed in May when the auto he was driving hit a lorry that had been turning left – Autopilot was unable to spot the white trailer against the bright sky.
Musk said that this update will be a dramatic improvement in the security system and if this update had been in the Joshua Brown auto, very likely the tragedy would have been avoided.
Moving forwards, Elon Musk says the cars will make greater use of the on-board radar for detecting and avoiding obstacles on the road.
Autopilot 8.0 will be delivered in an over-the-air software update to the operating systems of Tesla Model S and Model X cars in the next couple of weeks.
The biggest change in Autopilot version 8.0 is the new starring role for radar, which since October 2014 has only been used to supplement camera sensors, Musk said in a blog post on Sunday. And with this update it should improve its safety. “There won’t ever be zero fatalities”. Tesla is changing several prominent interface alerts and requirements, which will park the vehicle if a driver does not follow warning messages.
Interestingly, Musk also revealed: “Autopilot accidents are far more common with expert users; they get very comfortable with the system”.
The administration has been investigating the matter to find out if the accident has taken place from any safety defect in the Autopilot. Brown’s death was the first known death of a driver using such a system, which uses cameras, radar and sensors to steer vehicles and set their speed. “These drivers will teach not only their own vehicle but also all of the other Tesla vehicles on the road to correctly recognise roadway objects”.
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Tesla explained that “the net effect of this, combined with the fact that radar sees through most visual obscuration, is that the vehicle should nearly always hit the brakes correctly even if a UFO were to land on the freeway in zero visibility conditions”. The update sees the system warning the driver more frequently should they fail to pay attention. “It could be a truck crossing the road, a road sign, it could even be a spaceship or a pile of junk metal”, said Musk. By comparing these shots with one another, along with the car’s velocity and expected path, the system can determine whether or not something is a real obstacle and the probability of a collision.
