“Tesla could be using this as a self-driving sensor, or using it as the benchmark of “truth” for other self-driving sensors under consideration”. Other companies working on autonomous driving technology, like Bosch, have used Model S’s in the past to test their hardware. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, Ford Motor Co. He said Tesla’s Autopilot system “is not a self-driving system”. Just last month, Pennsylvania established a task force for the development of self-driving cars, led by researchers at Uber and Carnegie Mellon University. The driver was dead at the scene.
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Although the Tesla Autopilot feature was engaged on Brown’s auto, the technology apparently did not notice the white side of the truck against the brightly lit sky, according to a Tesla blog post published yesterday.
There’s plenty of evidence to support what Tesla, Google, Volvo, and other tech and auto companies have been saying for years – self-driving vehicles could drastically reduce deaths on the road.
“Unfortunately the biggest issue we have right now is public perception”, he said. The one fatality works out to 0.78 fatalities per 100 million miles.
Policies could be developed to strengthen the link between autonomous and electric or hydrogen fuel cells vehicles to boost the appeal of low carbon vehicles to normal users.
“They’re not looking at just this crash”, he said. “Humans are the ones making the errors”. “We’re at the driver-assistance level”.
Tesla has reiterated that drivers using Autopilot mode remain safer than those who don’t use it.
Tesla motorists are reminded that even with the feature enabled, they should keep their hands on the wheel and be ready to retake control. But he said “there is probably going to be a greater emphasis on holding the driver responsible for paying attention”.
We can not, though, ignore the challenges in getting there.
The accidents have put new scrutiny on Tesla’s Autopilot system and raised questions about whether the technology, which the company describes as only an experimental “beta” test, lulls drivers into a false sense of security.
“Autopilot is getting better all the time, but it is not flawless and still requires the driver to remain alert”, it said.
In its defense, the vehicle maker stated that drivers must always have their hands behind the wheels even when the Autopilot mode is on.
Fortune argued in its article that the crash has a direct effect on Tesla’s value and believes that the company should have made the information public immediately after the accident.
Tesla criticised the publication saying it was “fundamentally incorrect” and that its self-driving feature was working as intended.
There are some problems the way Tesla went about doing this, but it’s not going to be ideal. “They’re testing something and they’re relying on their customers to be their guinea pigs”. It’s part of the Silicon Valley culture of getting the product into the hand of consumers as quickly as possible, and then monitoring and improving the product according to consumer feedback.
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“We hope this is a wake-up call to federal regulators that we still don’t know enough about the safety of self-driving cars to be rushing them to the road”, Consumer Watchdog executive director Carmen Balber said in a statement released yesterday. “But people have to understand them”, he said.
