included eight cameras and 12 ultrasonic
sensors, in addition to forward-facing radar. The
HW2.5 upgrade was released in mid-2017 with
a second Graphics Processing Unit and a driver-
facing camera. All Autopilot-enabled cars receive
software updates wirelessly. As of 2017, Autopilot
included:-
● ●
Adaptive cruise control, lane departure
warning, emergency braking
● ●
Autosteer - semi-automated steering
● ●
Autopark - parallel and perpendicular
parking and
● ●
Summon - recalling the vehicle from a
parking place
Adaptive cruise control
Autopilot has the ability to follow another car,
maintaining a safe distance from it as it speeds up
and slows down. It can observe a second vehicle
in front of the vehicle that it is following. It also
slows on tight curves and when a car crosses the
road in front of it. It can be enabled at any speed
above 27 kph. By default, it sets the limit at the
current speed limit plus/minus any driver-specified
offset.
Autopilot alerts the driver under various
circumstances, such as a surprising situation on
the road or excessive inattention by the driver. If
the driver dismisses three audio warnings within
an hour, Autopilot is disabled until the car is
parked. This is to prevent drivers from excessive
reliance on built-in safety features. Under 72kph,
hands-free driving is allowed for five minutes,
unless the car detects lateral acceleration. Above
this speed, hands-free driving is allowed for only
three minutes if following another vehicle or one
minute without following a car.
Autosteer
Autosteer steers the car to remain in whatever
lane it is in (known as lane-keeping). For cars
equipped with HW1, they are able to change lanes
as directed by a tap of the turn signal. As of May
2017, the upgraded hardware HW2 limits this
feature to 145 kph on highway roads.
Autopark/Summon
Autopark drives the car into a parking spot, while
Summon drives it out. Configuration settings
control maximum distance, side clearance and
bumper clearance. This feature activates the Tesla
Homelink programme to open and close garage
doors, and it is available on mobile app.
Safety Issues
With so many avant-garde features, Tesla cars
are constantly making headlines. Car production
hiccups and delay in deliveries are often in the
news. So are incidents of fires and crashes.
After several cases of Model S catching fire, the
company responded with better protection for
battery packs. All Model S .25-inch (6.4 mm)
aluminium shield over the battery pack has been
replaced with a new three-layer shield.
Fatal crashes and injuries related to the use
of Autopilot have also raised concern. A Model
S driver died in a collision with a tractor-trailer on
May 7, 2016, in Williston, Florida, while the vehicle
was in autopilot mode. The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigated
the accident and concluded: “A safety-related
defect trend has not been identified at this time
and further examination of this issue does not
appear to be warranted.”
In accident cases, Tesla says it can tell from its
logs that drivers were either distracted or ignored
the car’s warnings to take control. The company
cautioned drivers and issued a statement saying
“when using Autopilot, drivers are continuously
reminded of their responsibility to keep their
hands on the wheel and maintain control of the
vehicle at all times.”
While a fully automated car is still years away,
Tesla has really changed the future of driving.
Advanced features in Autopilot remove much
stress and assist tech-savvy drivers with the most
burdensome parts of driving. - Inforeach
REFERENCE
https:// en. Wikipedia.org
https://www.tesla.com
https: //cleantechnica.com
https:// www.reuters.com
https://evannex.com
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