Tesla has confirmed an update for the Autopilot software used in its Model S and Model X cars which aim to improve the safety of this technology.
The updated Tesla Autopilot 8.0 will come via an over-the-air software update for the operating system of Tesla cars within the next one or two weeks, including for cars in the UK.
This comes following months of coverage focused on the safety of Tesla’s Autopilot in the wake of several incidents involving it, including a fatal crash.
"Three-fold increase in safety"
Tesla CEO Elon Musk insists that the Autopilot update is not a case of issues being fixed but it’s instead the next natural step in Tesla’s continual improvement of its products.
During an online press conference about the software update, Musk said: “It’s not going from bad to good, it’s going from good to great”. He added: “This will probably see a three-fold increase in safety.”
The update will be applied to all radar-equipped Model S and Model X cars made in the past two years. The biggest changes brought as part of this update are applied to the radar technology itself.
This tech will not only be able to recognise more objects on the road than before, but will also become able to use what is called ‘radar echo’. This essentially bounces radar sensor readings off the road and underneath the car in front and then back off objects ahead of that.
New ‘radar echo’ sees future obstacles
Musk explained: “Now if the car in front of you suddenly swerves, we've already seen the obstacle in front.”
Other updates introduced by Autopilot 8.0 include more prominent alerts with a flashing white border in the instrument panel to better get driver’s attention, and adjustments to make the system drive cars in a smoother manner.
There’s also a new setting that forces a driver to park and restart their car if they ignore three warnings within an hour to keep their hands on the wheel. Autopilot is meant to allow drivers to remove their hands from the wheel for up to three minutes, depending on the driving scenario.
