Tesla’s chief has taken to Twitter once again to announce news related to his electric vehicle company.
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Tesla is promising big upgrades to the company’s self-driving Autopilot feature in the next few weeks, CEO Elon Musk tweeted Wednesday.
As well as the new software industry rumors have speculated that Autopilot 2.0 capable cars will feature additional sensors at the front and corners of the auto, allowing the vehicle a greater level of “awareness” of its surroundings and other road users. We’d prefer if the autopilot system makes a loud noise to make sure drivers are alert because we as humans can do odd things when it comes down to our own lives.
The announcement comes only days after it was reported such an update was imminent, with Electrek reporting the update is likely to result in a weightier alert system. It cast doubts on the future of autonomous vehicles and was a personal blow to Tesla. According to Tesla, its self-driving system would have had difficulty in differentiating a white semi-trailer placed across a road and alongside a bright sky.
Tesla Motors has been under scrutiny ever since its first Model S fatal crash happened back in May. Tesla dubbed Autopilot a “beta feature” after launch, and Musk has repeated that it’s labelled a “beta specifically so people do not become complacent”, adding that the disclaimers provided to drivers are “written in super plain language”. Federal transportation regulators are investigating.
In the wake of three crashes in which Tesla’s semi-autonomous Autopilot driver assist feature was reportedly in use, Consumer Reports has called on the EV automaker to deactivate the system via an.
Previous reports suggest that aside from new software, the changes will include extra sensors in each corner of the vehicle, as well as a front-facing “triple” camera system which Tesla has already started implementing in production of the latest Model S.
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Although the company hasn’t revealed the exact mechanics of the version 8.0 and 8.1 updates and how they will make the journey smoother and safer, Musk tweeted: “Major improvements to Autopilot coming with V8.0 and 8.1 software (std OTA update) primarily through advanced processing of radar signals”, suggesting the changes will be pretty major.
