Tesla's solution to the problem of blaming Autopilot

By Henry Farkas

There was a crash in Florida recently where a Tesla hit a stopped Florida Highway Patrol vehicle that was stopped on the side of the road. The trooper was assisting the driver of a disabled vehicle. Fortunately, the trooper wasn't in their vehicle and was uninjured. The driver of the Tesla and the driver of the disabled vehicle had minor injuries.

Tesla Autopilot

There have been a series of episodes in which a Tesla on Autopilot has hit a stopped emergency vehicle, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation. We Tesla drivers, at least those of us who pay attention, already know the root cause of these accidents. And there are two solutions coming down the pipeline.

The basic problem is that plain old ordinary Autopilot doesn't seem to “see” parked vehicles. We see on our center screen what our cars seem to see, Go ahead out to your car. Drive to a street where there are painted lane lines and parked cars. Engage Autopilot and drive down the street. Your car will stay in its lane, but parked cars, for the most part, won't show up on your center screen. Go ahead and do that. I'll wait...

See, most of the parked cars didn't show on your center screen. Some did, but not all of them. Now imagine what would happen if you're on a limited-access highway. There's a disabled car, and a police car stops behind it. The police car parks with its light bar flashing, and it's sticking out into the travel lane a bit to notify drivers that they need to move over to the next lane. That's the procedure for protecting the disabled car and its driver. But your Tesla, on Autopilot, is firmly glued to the center of the travel lane. Since it doesn't see the parked police car, even with the light bar flashing, the right front fender of the Tesla hits the left rear fender of the police car. Computers don't do what you want them to do. They do what they're programmed to do.

And why does this accident happen? Because most drivers don't fly planes. What? How does flying have anything to do with this? If you're a pilot, you've been taught that engaging the autopilot in a plane doesn't absolve the human pilot of any responsibility. All it does is make the job of flying the plane less labor-intensive. The pilot knows that they still need to pay attention. That message doesn't seem to have reached all Tesla drivers even though Tesla tells them that they need to keep paying attention. If the driver had been paying attention, they'd have seen the flashing lights in plenty of time to shift over manually to the next lane.

Driver Monitoring

So, what are the two solutions in the pipeline? The first solution is that Tesla software update 2021.32.5 is going to activate the little camera inside the car above the rearview mirror. It will be watching the driver's eyes. If the driver starts looking somewhere else besides the road for more than a few seconds, the car will notify the driver. If the driver doesn't start paying attention after about thirty seconds, Autopilot disengages with a loud alarm and a big red steering wheel icon on the screen. And the driver had better be ready to take over. The camera-based driver monitoring system is rolling out to radar-equipped cars.

FSD Beta

The other item coming down the pipeline is the beta version of Full Self Driving. Of course, that's only available to people who have shelled out for FSD. But if you do have it, you can see from this video that FSD beta v 9.2 does see parked cars. It still doesn't see white concrete columns that hold the Seattle monorail up, so there are improvements yet to be made.

Tesla FSD V9.2 Review & Monorail Test

Tesla Expected to Release 'Actually Smart Summon' and 'Tap to Park' Updates Next Month

By Not a Tesla App Staff
Smart summon in April update
Smart summon in April update

Elon Musk announced that Tesla will finally reintroduce Smart Summon and Autopark to its vehicles. According to the CEO, these features are scheduled for release in April. Tesla removed ultrasonic sensors (USS) from their vehicles in 2022, and with it removed several features, including Autopark, Smart Summon and Park Assist. However, since then, they’ve added High Fidelity Park Assist, a feature that recreates the surrounding environment in 3D. Although, it’s currently only available to vehicles without USS, that’s expected to change in the near future, and could also come bundled in with the new Autopark feature.

This update in April is not only expected bring these features back to vehicles without ultrasonic sensors, but Tesla is also expected to release drastically improved versions of these features, known as Actually Smart Summon and Tap to Park.

Major improvements coming for Summon & Banish (Autopark) next month - Elon Musk

Improved Autopark

Greentheonly, who regularly decompiles Tesla firmware, has indicated that Tesla's latest software, version 2024.8, already contains the code necessary for these new features, but they need to be remotely activated by Tesla. Additionally, Green says the new Autopark system will offer users the choice between parallel and perpendicular parking options. The new Autopark is expected to let drivers visually select a parking spot, exit the vehicle, and let it park itself.

New ‘Tap to Park’ Feature

With the introduction of High Fidelity Park Assist, Tesla laid the groundwork for more sophisticated features like "Tap to Park."

Tap to Park builds on the original concept of Park Seek, a feature discussed by Tesla in October 2022 that aimed to automate the parking spot search process. While the initial vision for Park Seek suggested a vehicle could autonomously search for parking, "Tap to Park" simplifies this idea.

With the deployment of FSD Beta v12.3 going to more users this weekend, the company continues to leverage AI to reduce code in favor of neural networks trained with real-world driving data.

Just last week, Musk posted on X: "Really cool stuff coming both this month and next." Since that post, FSD beta version 12.3 has started going to more users, and now it seems two other long overdue and highly anticipated updates are coming with Actually Smart Summon and Tap to Park. Still no word on auto wiper improvements.

Tesla Expands FSD Beta v12.3; Autopilot Director Confirms Ability to Reverse is Coming Soon

By Kevin Armstrong
FSD Beta v12 is living up to hype
FSD Beta v12 is living up to hype

Tesla's latest Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta v12 is reaching users after an extended rollout over the weekend. This update is not just another iteration; it represents a leap in self-driving technology, primarily due to its integration of end-to-end neural networks for vehicle control. So far, it seems to be living up to the hype.

A Neural Network Driven Approach

At the core of FSD v12 is a shift from traditional programming to neural network-based decision-making. This allows the vehicle to process raw camera footage and vehicle kinematics directly into driving actions, mimicking human cognitive processes more closely than ever before. Ashok Elluswamy, Director of Autopilot Software at Tesla, highlighted the monumental effort to surpass the capabilities of the previous v11, setting a new standard for FSD's future.

Ability to Reverse Is Coming

The release has garnered widespread acclaim, with tech leaders like Michael Dell praising its capabilities and likening the car to human-like driving proficiency. Many in the Tesla community have been posting their weekend drivers, including Chuck Cook, who was amazed during one point of his drive, referring to a move as “Robo-taxi navigation.” Cook believed he was in too tight of a spot to pull a U-turn, but his Tesla pulled it off. Elluswamy commented: “Reverse coming soon when the Actually Smart Summon and the FSD models merge together over the next few releases.”

There were numerous examples of v12.3 navigating complex driving scenarios easily, showcasing significant improvements over earlier versions.

“Reverse coming soon when the Actually Smart Summon and the FSD models merge together over the next few releases.” - Ashok Elluswamy

Next-Level Capabilities on the Horizon

Elon Musk has teased that v12.4 will introduce even more advanced features, emphasizing the continuous improvement in training compute constraints. In fact, he was so thrilled with the next update that he said it could be called version 13. He posted that “V12.4 is another big jump in capabilities. Our constraint in training compute is much improved.”

Update 2023.44.30.25

FSD 12.3
Installed on 4% of vehicles
2 Installs today
Last updated: Mar 19, 5:50 am

Tesla’s FSD trajectory seems to be hitting a new level, as it appears to be headed toward approval of use on roadways in Europe. While it is taking longer than initially believed, the dream of autonomous driving seems to be getting closer to reality.

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