Tesla [NSDQ:TSLA] on Sunday provided the first details on a software update that addresses some of the shortcomings of its semi-autonomous driving aid known as Autopilot.
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Musk said it was “very likely” that the improved autopilot would have prevented the death of Brown, but warned that the upgrade won’t bring “perfect safety” to driving.
According to the Verge, Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes that this new upgraded autopilot system may have avoided the fatal crash that occurred back in May.
The announcement comes after several crashes involving cars that were engaged in Autopilot, including one deadly incident in which a vehicle slammed into a white tractor-trailer after not being able to differentiate the truck from the brightly lit sky around it.
Currently, Tesla vehicles primarily use cameras to scan the road ahead, but with Autopilot 8.0, the electric vehicles will lean more on radar technology to move about safely.
“We’re making much more effective use of radar”, Musk was quoted as telling reporters on a phone call. Radar helps the auto see things that may be blocked to cameras in bright sunlight or bad weather. “It’s about improving the probability of safety”.
In Teslas moving faster than 45 miles per hour on Autopilot, drivers will be reminded after one minute if they are not driving behind another vehicle, or three minutes if there is another auto ahead.
The company says that it will also use fleet learning to enhance object detection, by uploading and comparing data about exactly when a auto brakes when a given radar object (like a road sign) is nearby, all of its vehicles will be able to navigate past them safely.
Musk cautioned the improvement “doesn’t mean ideal safety”. As per Musk, Tesla has explained the new improvements to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Tesla also explained that radar can see past the vehicle ahead, giving auto more time to break if need be.
Tesla’s Autopilot uses cameras, radar and sensors to steer vehicles and adjust their speed.
Tesla will update its cars’ Autopilot function with new safety features created to prevent collisions, the company has announced.
In another big upgrade, Tesla’s auto-steering feature will disengage if the driver ignores repeated warnings to keep his or her hands or the wheel.
The software update, which will be rolled out around the world in the coming weeks, will give radar technology a more active role in Tesla’s Autopilot – a feature drivers can enable to allow the auto to stay within its lane and to keep from hitting other vehicles.
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Tesla Motors’s Autopilot feature wasn’t in use throughout a lethal crash of one of its automobiles south of Amsterdam, the automaker stated.
