Tesla Updates Autopilot To Avoid Accidents Like Recent Model S Crash

However, Tesla Motors will now be using radar as the primary control sensor for Autopilot, with the system not requiring the onboard cameras to visually confirm objects detected by radar.

Major upgrades to the radar system software as part of Version 8 mean that Tesla cars will be able to bounce photons beneath the auto in front to see whatever’s in front of that, picking up data that will allow Autopilot to react to the obstruction even if the driver can’t see it – and even if the driver in front doesn’t see it.

With Tesla’s Autopilot 8.0 update, the electric automaker’s autonomous driving systems now place greater reliance on radar, rather than on cameras as it has done before.

“I wish we could have done it earlier, but flawless is the enemy of good”, Musk said. Tesla vehicle owners for models delivered after October 2014 can download the updates within two weeks. According to the investigation, the Tesla Model S was traveling along a highway in Autopilot mode, but the system did not see a tractor trailer that was driving across.

Upgrade of Autopilot will make more prominent use of radar. “There won’t ever be zero fatalities”.

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.

The 8.0 upgrade will also include an improved Autosteering and a new safety mechanism that will disable the Autopilot system if the driver disengages his hands from the steering wheel. The radar will work no matter what weather or light conditions the auto may be in during its roll on the driveway, which can help decrease false vehicle alarms and alleviate speed, which is actually some of the most common reasons behind auto crashes nowadays.

To enable this, the company has figured out a way for the radar to discern between small objects, low bridges, road signs and genuine threats. Now, the company is looking to use the radar and the camera together.

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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”.