In a bid to innovatively offer its owners a more exciting user experience, Tesla launched an autopilot feature in October 2014 for its fleet of Tesla Model S electric cars which had been sold earlier on with thousands of sensors that had gathered a lot of useful data that was required in building the software. The software named Tesla Version 7.0 was open to purchase by customers for roughly $4,250.
By virtue of the software, the car could manage its speed, steer within and change lanes, and auto park. Customers were excited. The new feature was offering a new level of comfort in transportation and had people reading, sipping coffee, making calls while the car navigated the city with the aid of a map.
However, crashes early this year have dampened the enthusiasm of users of the auto pilot Tesla cars.
In May, Joshua Brown, a 40 year old man was driving the highway on autopilot in his Tesla Model S when it rammed full speed into an 18-wheel truck and trailer.
According to reports from the organisation, the car had failed to distinguish between the large truck and the clear white sky and attempted to drive full speed underneath the truck. The resulting crash resulted in the death of the 40 year old as the roof of the car had been removed by the impact of the collision.
Another incident in China occurred when Gao Yaning, 23 hit the back of a road sweeper vehicle in the north eastern province of Hebei while riding in his father’s Tesla in auto pilot mode.
In Beijing, another Tesla user had crashed after mistaking the auto pilot mode for a self-driving feature.
‘Auto-pilot’ synonym for ‘self-driving’?
Following the first accident recorded in Florida, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had come forward in a statement emphasizing that the company still urged users of the auto pilot software to remain alert and keep their hands on the wheels.
While one or two of the recorded crashes were confirmed to have happened without the cars in auto pilot mode, majority of them happened with the cars in autopilot mode.
In the case of a crash that occurred with a user driving a Model X in Montana, the auto pilot feature had urged the driver to put his hands on the wheel which he had not complied with hence the crash, the company said.
This might be a case of misinterpretation as the auto pilot feature isn’t fully a self-driving feature that allows the car complete control of movement under any conditions.
The company still strongly believes that despite the many crashes worldwide, the auto pilot feature is safe if used properly.
To improve the safety of this feature, Tesla is working on an updated version of the software, Tesla Version 8.0. They also plan to incorporate a self-driving feature in its new Tesla Model 3. Prospects at a fully self-driving feature for the company’s new release, the Tesla Model 3 has come with mixed reactions as the safety of the auto pilot feature is still under major dispute.
This year, Uber announced its plans to release a fleet of self-driving cars. The company’s Ford fusion cars were launched this Wednesday in premier tests of the autonomous driving feature in Pittsburgh.
The cars, four in number, have 3D cameras, global positioning systems and a detection system that uses lasers to assess objects on the road. The vehicles can also stop at red lights, go at green lights, drive over bridges and maneuver around other vehicles on their own. That’s about all the basics a human being can do behind the wheels.
However, concerns are arising about the safety of the autonomous driving feature following the outing of the Tesla cars and the auto-pilot feature.
Can machines be fully given charge of human lives on the highway at speeds of over 1000 miles an hour? Apart from sensors that detect when objects are on the road and sensors that help the cars auto manoeuvre their passengers from these blocks, how about fluid situations like rainfall and sudden storms that might require one completely pulling over and waiting out the weather?
The Uber autonomous cabs are still going out with two Uber employees on every ride. They will monitor the car’s self-driving capabilities — one behind the wheel and the other in the passenger seat with a laptop displaying the data and images gathered by the car’s sensors.
It is still a novel ground in the technology of transport but still a feature that requires a lot of fine-tuning as human lives are at stake.
Will you be riding in a self-driving Uber cab if and when they berth in Lagos?
