Tesla has announced new and better safety features for its cars' Autopilot function. The updates are mainly geared towards preventing collisions.
This is partly in response to a tragic incident early this year. A driver died when his Model S's Autopilot function failed to detect an oncoming truck.
Included in the safety updates is making sure drivers are still alert and aware of their surroundings even when their cars are set on Autopilot.
Drivers ignoring repeated warnings to place their hands on the steering wheel will lead to them needing to park their car, and the Autosteer function shutting off, before they can use the Autopilot function again.
Tesla Motors Chief Executive Elon Musk also told reporters that the company will greater utilize the cars' on-board radar to detect obstructions on the road.
These numerous updates are the company's efforts after the US road safety regulator started investigating the software's consistency.
The introduction of the Autopilot feature saw many consumer rights groups contesting the reliability of the self-driving technology. Concerned citizens even urged Tesla motors to change the name of the feature as to them the word "autopilot" is deceptive.
The feature went under even greater scrutiny when a car on Autopilot failed to detect a white tractor-trailer leading to the death of an Ohio businessman. It was later learned that neither the driver nor the Autopilot activated the brakes before the collision.
The updates on the Autopilot system, called Version 8, will hopefully help prevent such accident from happening.
The improvements on the cars' on-board radar will see it becoming the Autopilot's main method for scanning the roads. The current system relies on the radar to confirm what the cameras see.
Cameras are the current system's primary source of images. When the updates are applied, the images from the cameras will only serve to supplement what the radar system detects.
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