M -Tesla has announced an update to its Autopilot electronic driver assistance system aimed at increasing accuracy and safety. “The radar was added to all Tesla vehicles in October 2014 as part of the Autopilot hardware suite, but was only meant to be a supplementary sensor to the primary camera and image processing system”. The updated system will also compare how its drivers respond to road conditions, with how it might react itself.
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In other words, Tesla models will not be capable of full autonomy while driving with the feature activated, but their level of safety will be increased through greater use of built-in radar sensors.
Tesla has been under fire since former Navy Seal Joshua Brown was killed when his all-electric Tesla Model S sedan drove under a trailer truck that was crossing a Florida highway. If the driver doesn’t comply, the Autopilot system will temporarily prevent drivers from accessing Autopilot. Safety activists such as Consumer Reports have urged Tesla to disable the automatic steering function and to stop marketing the system as an Autopilot. The company disagreed with Tesla over how its technology “was deployed”.
“While there are dozens of small refinements with Version 8 of our software, described in addendum below, the most significant upgrade to Autopilot will be the use of more advanced signal processing to create a picture of the world using the onboard radar”, reads a company announcement. “Even if you’re driving down the road and the visibility is very low and there’s a multi-car pile up, the camera can’t see it, but the radar would and apply the brakes”, said Tesla.
Tesla is desperate to show regulators its Autopilot system is safe.
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Tesla said the new software leans more heavily on radar’s capabilities, such as better performance in darkness and bad weather, while the additional data will minimize the possibilities of “false alarms” – inappropriate braking events – arising from the system incorrectly recognizing a potential hazard. The system can not be turned on again without stopping and parking the vehicle.
