Tesla - Self Driving

‘I’m not drunk, it’s my car: “Tesla has released an early version of its “full self-driving”

Autopilot is an advanced driver assistance system that enhances safety and convenience behind the wheel. When used properly, Autopilot reduces your overall workload as a driver.

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Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability

8 external cameras, a radar, 12 ultrasonic sensors and a powerful onboard computer provide an additional layer of safety to guide you on your journey. Cars built between September 2014 and October 2016 include one camera and less-powerful radar and ultrasonic sensors.

There are two Autopilot packages available for purchase: Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability.

Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability are intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment. While these features are designed to become more capable over time, the currently enabled features do not make the vehicle autonomous.

‘I’m not drunk, it’s my car

Tesla has released an early version of its “full self-driving” software to a small group of Tesla enthusiasts, who appear to be both delighted and alarmed by what they’ve experienced so far.

Tesla has long promoted the idea that its vehicles will someday be able to drive passengers from location to location without human intervention. While many auto manufacturers have invested heavily in automated features, Tesla has been the most bullish, pushing out features before other brands, such as lane-keeping on highways and traffic light detection.

Now Tesla’s long-promised “full self-driving” functionality has arrived — sort of. The company has provided an unfinished version of the software to a group of beta testers, a term used in the software industry to refer to users who test incomplete software and often provide feedback for improvements.

The beta version of “full self-driving” was released on Oct. 20. Since then, at least six beta testers have posted footage on social media showcasing their early impressions of the software. CNN Business reviewed hours of footage and found early impressions of the software are a mixed bag. At times the testers are impressed with the “full self-driving” technology, in other cases they say it’s overly cautious. The videos also show unsafe situations that appear to result from the car not understanding traffic well enough.

The automotive executive has repeatedly predicted the capability of Tesla’s self-driving technology. He said in 2016 that a Tesla would be able to drive from Los Angeles to New York by the end of 2017 “without the need for a single touch” of the wheel.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in August that full self-driving’s improvement would be a “quantum leap” from Tesla’s current assisted driving options, and when commuting with an early version of the technology, said he was having almost no “interventions,” Tesla-speak for moments when a driver must take over for the automated driving software.

Tesla’s use of the term “full self-driving” has long been controversial, and criticized by autonomous vehicle experts. To most experts, full self-driving means a car in which a person could safely fall asleep behind the wheel. An attentive human driver isn’t needed.

In at least one case, the Tesla “full self-driving” software appeared to confuse a one-way street for a two-way street, according to the video.
Paquette estimated in her Talking Tesla interview that her Tesla might be as good a driver as her, if she’d had “maybe three bourbons.”

Tesla owners have been willing to make sacrifices to test the unfinished software. McGowen said in another YouTube video that a safety feature on his Tesla, automatic emergency braking, had to be disabled so he could participate. McGowen said that he was willing to accept the risk.

“I want people to be able to get very good stable software and safe software once this is ready,” he said.
Hallock, a YouTuber who lives in North Carolina, said in a video that Tesla isn’t paying him for doing the testing.
“I just want to share the experience, as Tesla has asked me to do,” Hallock said.
Some Tesla owners with “full self-driving” report that they’ve already received an updated version of the software, and seen improvements.
“It’s just driving so much more natural, I love it,” McGowen said in a video he posted Wednesday. He then marveled at how much better his car could turn into a Target parking lot compared with his earliest tests using the first version of “full self-driving.”
Fewer than six minutes later, in the same video, McGowen had to grab the wheel and disengage full self-driving to prevent the car from driving off the road.
“Yeah, it’s not doing well at night,” McGowen said.

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