Drivers will have access to the update, announced Sunday, in the next week or so and it will arrive in an “over-the-air” software update.
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Version 8.0 of the company’s vehicle firmware will allow the onboard radar to better assist Autopilot in sensing nearby vehicles and obstacles; it’ll also negate the need to use camera as a primary control sensor.
In addition to the radar as the main sensor of the Tesla Model S, the company is also looking to improve the emergency braking mode to allow the Autosteer technology to be activated in the event that a vehicle crash is imminent.
On a conference call with reporters, Musk said he thinks that the improvements, which will roll out globally in the next week or two in the form of a software update, probably would have prevented that crash.
Musk said that, with the latest updates, the system would have identified a “large metal object across the road”.
A Tesla driver died earlier this year when the technology missed a lorry. Instead of being totally supplemental to the camera, the blog post added that the radar alone “could be used as the primary control sensor without even requiring the camera to confirm image recognition”.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating Tesla’s Autopilot system since June because of the fatal accident.
The challenge in using radar is in avoiding “false alarms”, he added, where small objects like cans could be interpreted as a threat.
Radar’s greater role in Tesla’s Autopilot system is particularly notable because, unlike its vision system, radar can see through “most visual obscuration”, Tesla explained.
But Musk said the company was eventually able to solve that problem through software improvements.
Musk wrote: “When the data shows that false braking events would be rare, the vehicle will begin mild braking using radar, even if the camera doesn’t notice the object ahead”.
Another interesting inclusion in the update will be aimed directly at those abusing the capabilities of Autopilot and, more specifically, those who engage in stunts like sitting in the back seat during a drive.
Overall, the new measures should result in the vehicle hitting the brakes appropriately “even if a UFO were to land on the freeway in zero visibility conditions”, Tesla said.
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“Initially, the vehicle fleet will take no action except to note the position of road signs, bridges and other stationary objects, mapping the world according to radar”, Mr Musk wrote. The update will make sure that the driver holds the steering wheel by issuing repeated warnings; if the warnings are ignored, the auto will force the driver to park the vehicle before re-engaging the autonomous functions, the BBC explains.
