In addition, the update to the Autopilot technology will also give Tesla cars the ability to ensure that drivers are paying attention on the road when the cars are driven in self-driving mode.
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“I do want to emphasize this does not mean flawless safety”.
In a Twitter post, Musk said he would be holding a Q&A session with the media on Sunday and would follow that with a post about autopilot at 3 p.m. ET.
While radars are more efficient and safe for passangers, there are challenges in making the technology work properly.
In May 2016 a Model S in Autopilot hit a tractor trailer after the camera sensor didn’t see the white truck against the bright sky. Musk also explained about the additional feature “radar echo”. To prevent false positives so Teslas on Autopilot don’t brake when they see overhead road signs, for example, the company is building a “geocoded whitelist” of fixed items cars should not stop for. When activating the system, drivers must acknowledge that they are responsible for the vehicle.
With the new update, Autopilot will disable itself if the driver ignores warning messages to keep their hands on the wheel at all times. The maximum period of not keeping hands on the wheel is a minute at the speed mentioned above when the road ahead is clear.
“We really pushed hard on questioning all of those assumptions over the past few months”, he said.
Autopilot’s first self-driving features were introduced in a Version 7.0 software update released in October 2015. Safety activists such as Consumer Reports have urged Tesla to disable the automatic steering function and to stop marketing the system as an Autopilot. However, the Autopilot system is not created to control any parts of the vehicle, most importantly the brakes.
During an online press conference about the software update, Musk said: “It’s not going from bad to good, it’s going from good to great”. According to Tesla boss Elon Musk, with this updated autopilot the accidents caused by the vehicles can be cut down my nearly half.
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The automaker has received scrutiny from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for accidents that have occurred while Autopilot was engaged.
