Last May, the Tesla Model S claimed its first fatality when a man who was using the Autopilot feature on the vehicle hit an 18-wheeler truck. The sensor, with which these vehicles are equipped, was not able to recognize the white-colored truck because of the bright sky that day. The car crashed into the trailer, subsequently taking the life of the 40-year old driver, who was identified as Joshua Brown.
The Guardian reported that the driver had been playing Harry Potter during the collision, which was probably why he wasn't able to take control of the Tesla Model S before it hit the truck. Brown was the owner of a tech company and was also a Tesla enthusiast, taking to YouTube to post videos of him driving the Tesla Model S using the autopilot feature.
According to The Verge, Tesla has released a new statement claiming that they are looking to upgrade autopilot using radars. The company has decided that an autopilot upgrade is necessary following the incident. According to Tesla, they will be adding an advanced signal processing feature to better identify the vehicle's surroundings.
The advanced signal processing, which comes in the form of the radar, isn't new to the Tesla Model S, as it had been added to all Tesla vehicles back in October of 2014. Now, however, the company is looking to use it as the "primary control sensor without requiring the camera to confirm visual image recognition."
Previously, the Tesla Model S used a camera and image processing system as the vehicle's primary sensors. Now, the company is looking to use the radar and the camera together. According to the Verge, Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes that this new upgraded autopilot system may have avoided the fatal crash that occurred back in May.
In addition to the radar as the main sensor of the Tesla Model S, the company is also looking to improve the emergency braking mode to allow the Autosteer technology to be activated in the event that a car crash is imminent. To read Tesla's full statement on the autopilot upgrade, visit Tesla.com.
