Tesla has been making moves to fix the autopilot feature in its fleet of vehicles ever since an accident that took the life of a driver who was known to post videos on YouTube of his Model S in action.
The accident caused many to wonder if this feature is truly ready for the road and if driverless cars are destined to go down the same path. Many knew this day would come because such a feature just doesn't run smoothly without minor or major hiccups.
Now that it has come and gone, what is Tesla planning on doing to make sure it never happens again, or to make sure future accidents don't take a life? Well, the company released a software update recently that is designed to make things better.
The issue with the previous system is that the autopilot feature gives the driver visual alerts to take control or to take other actions. However, drivers have the option to ignore this if they want, and when this happens, the autopilot continues to work. That's a major problem that needs to be addressed.
The new software update will make it more difficult for drivers to ignore the warnings, according to Electrek. If the warnings are ignored despite multiple alerts, autopilot will automatically disengage. Now, drivers in such a situation won't be able to turn it on again until they stop and park the vehicle.
Some might view this movie as going overboard, but it's either that or we'll have more accidents and deaths on the nation's streets. Tesla wants to make sure that all drivers are awake and alert when driving, and this is definitely a good way to go about it.
There might be flaws in this plan, however. We'd prefer if the autopilot system makes a loud noise to make sure drivers are alert because we as humans can do strange things when it comes down to our own lives.
Some drivers won't be scared of the autopilot going off, so what's going to happen? When the system is disengaged, does it simply stop in the middle of the road? Tesla did not reveal anything on this matter, but we'd love to know.
One can only hope that drivers care enough about their lives and the lives of others to take heed when the autopilot gives the first or multiple warnings.
We can only wonder how bad things will get with full driverless cars on our streets in the years to come. Hopefully, these machines don't cause severe problems.
Photo: Hans Johnson | Flickr
