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ALL Tesla vehicles produced in its factory will have the hardware needed for full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver, the company announced.
Eight surround cameras provide 360 degreevisibility around the car at up to 250m of range. Twelve updated ultrasonic sensors complement this vision, allowing for detection of both hard and softobjects at nearly twice the distance of the prior system.
A forward-facing radar with ‘enhanced processing’ provides additional data about the world on a redundant wavelength, capable of seeing through heavy rain, fog, dust and even the car ahead.
To make sense of all of this data, a newonboard computer with more than 40 times the computing power of the previous generation runs the new Tesla-developed neural net for vision, sonar and radar processing software.
“Together, this system provides a view of the world that a driver alone cannot access, seeing in every direction simultaneously and on wavelengths that go far beyond the human senses,” acompany spokesman said.
“Before activating the features enabled by the new hardware, we will further calibrate the system using millions of miles of real-world driving to ensure significant improvements to safety andconvenience.
“While this is occurring, Teslas with new hardware will temporarily lack certain features currently available on Teslaswith first-generation Autopilot hardware, including some standard safety features such as automatic emergency braking, collision warning, lane holding and active cruise control.
“As these features are robustly validated we will enable them over the air, together with a rapidly expanding set ofentirely new features. As always, our over-the-air software updates will keep customers at the forefront of technology and continue to make every Tesla, including those equipped with first-generation Autopilot and earlier cars, morecapable over time.”
Tesla Motors, the American automaker and energy storage company co-founded in July 2003, is based in California. It specialises in electric cars and their powertrain components and also produce battery-charging equipment.
Tesla first gained widespread attention following its production of the Tesla Roadster, the first electric sports car,in 2008.
In recent months the spotlight has been onthe company after a Tesla car was on autopilot when its driver was killed in a collision with a truck in the US, as reported in MotoringWeekly.
The Tesla Autopilot system allowed the carto keep itself in a lane, maintain speed and operate for a limited time without a driver doing the steering. Tesla, in a statement at the time, said Autopilot‘ does not turn a Tesla into an autonomous vehicle and does not allow the driverto abdicate responsibility’.
Tesla said that the white trailer was not easy for the car’s cameras to distinguish from the bright Florida sky. The crash occurred on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
The latest technological improvements address this scenario. Self-driving vehicles, it says, will now play a crucial role in improving transportation safety and accelerating the world’s transition to a sustainable future. Full autonomy will enable a Tesla to be ‘substantially safer than a human driver, lower the financial cost of transportation for thosewho own a car and provide low-cost on-demand mobility for those who do not’, itclaims.
Tesla’srecently launched its most affordable car yet, the Model 3, which can achieve 346km of range per charge and starts at around BD13,000.
