Tesla Will Update Autopilot Technology To Emphasize Radar Images Over Cameras, Elon Musk Says

Elon Musk, in his latest attempt to convince critics regarding the safety concerns of Tesla's semi-autonomous driving feature, stated that Tesla Motors Inc. will update its autopilot technology to emphasize radar images over cameras.

Musk expressed his belief that the improvements will make the cars "by far" the safest available on the road and if it had been done earlier, probably would have saved the life of Joshua Brown, who died in the Florida crash.

Tesla alters autopilot to emphasize radar images over cameras https://t.co/CgCjxZ6brd pic.twitter.com/YDt1zXLDbR

— Bloomberg (@business) September 11, 2016

What's the Change ?

One of the biggest change in autopilot is the new role for radar, Musk said in a blog post on Sunday. The automatic-steering software has also been designed to disengage if a driver in any way ignores warnings to keep hands on the steering wheel. The software will stay off until the driver parks his car, the blog stated.

"I am highly confident this will lead to substantial improvement," Musk, Tesla's CEO, said on Sunday during a conference call. Palo Alto, California-based Tesla's branch is currently upgrading the software. Version 8.0 has automatic feedback from Tesla's cars to linked GPS systems, to catalog the fixed items that the radar sees in order to prevent any future false alarms for the other drivers.

Fleet Learning

Tesla is making use of so-called 'fleet learning' that will allow the technology to progress at a much faster rate, said Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina. "Tesla is actually making use of its customers as trainers," Smith stated via e-mail.

About the latest update, Tesla said the Autopilot system would now recognize objects and know enough not to hit it. Instead of being totally supplemental to the camera, the blog post added that the radar alone "could be used as the primary control sensor without even requiring the camera to confirm image recognition."

The federal government is also drafting guidelines, expected to be released at the end of this month, for automakers racing to bring self-driving cars in the market.

More than 35,200 people have been killed in U.S. auto accidents since 2015, according to NHTSA. The overwhelming majority (94 percent) of those are due to human error. The safety regulators want to improve human behavior while also promoting technology that will protect people in such mishaps.