Innovative US carmaker Tesla said on Sunday that its new self-driving system would have been able to prevent the crash which led to the death of a Model S driver in May of this year.
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Tesla is preparing a significant upgrade to its autopilot technology for a future software update, the company announced today.
(Musk said the technology’s accuracy improves if the auto is following another vehicle, hence the disparity.) Otherwise, the Autosteer system will disengage until the auto is parked.
“This is adding another layer of safety, but this does not mean flawless safety”, Musk said. It will also allow the auto to assess the likelihood of a collision by comparing several radar snapshots against the vehicle’s velocity and expected path. Musk said, “I do want to emphasize: this does not mean flawless safety”.
Tesla’s Autopilot system can maintain a set speed, keep the auto within its lane and brake automatically.
This comes following months of coverage focused on the safety of Tesla’s Autopilot in the wake of several incidents involving it, including a fatal crash. Musk said he believes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which opened an investigation as a result of crash, will be receptive to the improvements.
The update pins radar as the most important tool that could help a auto break appropriately and be more aware of its surroundings. Tesla says a more detailed point cloud gives access to six times as many radar objects, with much more data per object.
The new radar detection is expected to recognize obstacles more than one auto away and use fleet learning to avoid braking for minor objects like a soda can or small animal. Musk claimed that the Model S and Model X are the safest cars on the road.
Tesla will roll out an upgrade to the autopilot software for its electric vehicles in the coming weeks.
Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk wrote on the carmaker’s blog that the improved onboard radar is equipped with more advanced signal processing to create a picture of the environment around the auto.
Musk hoped that people critical of Tesla’s introduction of self-driving technology will like the update.
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One big way the company is enhancing the accuracy of Autopilot is by tweaking the system’s software so that data collected by the car’s radar sensor carries more weight when determining whether the auto should brake or not.
