Tesla announces fully self-driving system

Tesla announces fully self-driving system

Tesla Motors Inc. on Wednesday said all vehicles now being produced will have a fully self-driving system standard.

“Every car we make on the order of 2,000 cars a week are shipping with … hardware capable of full driverless capability,” CEO Elon Musk said in a call with reporters Wednesday night. “I think that’s probably unexpected by most that this is happening right now.”

Musk said the vehicles and systems would need regulatory approval before the system could be activated. It’s unclear how soon and in what states these vehicles would be able to operate fully autonomously.

The California automaker’s announcement comes as traditional manufacturers like Ford Motor Co. work to get fully autonomous vehicles, without the need for a driver to take control, on the road within the next five years.

“This hardware, combined with Tesla’s existing over-the-air update capabilities, will allow the automaker to continue improving its self-driving capabilities with minimal inconvenience for owners,” said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book. “It’s a big up-front commitment to self-driving technology that other automakers may not be willing to make at this point.”

Tesla said the cars will be able to drive themselves at a “safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver.”

Tesla customers will be able to buy a car with an enhanced version of Autopilot or a car capable of full self-driving. The enhanced Autopilot system has redundant forward cameras and left and rear cameras, and significantly improved sonar.

The new system, which goes beyond the driver assist Autopilot it currently offers, features eight surround cameras that provide 360 degree visibility around the car at up to 250 meters of range. It also includes 12 updated ultrasonic sensors that allow for detection of hard and soft objects at nearly twice the distance of the prior Autopilot system. A forward - facing radar with enhanced processing allows the car to see through heavy rain, fog, dust and even the car ahead.

The system features a new on board computer with more than 40 times the computing power of the previous generation to run the new Tesla-developed neural net for vision, sonar and radar processing software.

Model S and Model X vehicles with this new hardware are already in production, and it will also be available on the upcoming Model 3.

Musk has said Tesla was making improvements to its Autopilot system following the fatal crash in May of Joshua Brown in Florida. Police said Brown was killed in his 2015 Model S that was operating with its Autopilot driver-assist system engaged. The car failed to recognize a semi-trailer that turned left in front of it at an intersection.

Earlier this year, Israeli-based Mobileye and Tesla broke ties. The supplier had provided image sensing technology to Tesla but it had raised safety concerns to the car maker and Musk about the use of Autopilot without hands on the steering wheel.

The May fatal crash continues to be investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

“The question now is how and when will this technology be implemented in the real world?” said Edmunds.com Executive Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell in a statement. “It's like buying a 4K TV today. It might be cool to own one, but until networks start broadcasting regularly in 4K, it's just a vanity purchase.”