Photo: Tesla
According to figures provided by Tesla, since the introduction of the Navigate on Autopilot feature in 2018 owners of electric cars have traveled around 66 million miles with the system engaged, and 9 million lane changes were performed. And now comes an update for the many miles ahead.
Until this week, lane changes decided by the system needed to be confirmed by the driver by engaging the turn stalk. With this latest update, such a confirmation will no longer be required, as a means to create a “more seamless active guidance experience.”
Some tampering with the car’s settings needs to be done for the update to work. In the Autopilot Settings menu, the Customize Navigate on Autopilot button now reveals three additional settings – Enable at Start of Every Trip, Require Lane Change Confirmation, and Lane Change Notification.
The first setting, Enable at Start of Every Trip tells Autopilot to automatically turn on each time a navigation route is entered. This means whenever a car is on a highway and a target location is selected, the setting will be on by default.
In the Require Lane Change Confirmation menu, the driver has the option to choose No when prompted. If this is selected, lane changes will take place with no need for confirmation from the driver.
The Lane Change Notification setting tells the car to notify the driver about upcoming lane changes by audio and visual warnings. For cars manufactured after August 2017, warnings about lane changes can also be relayed via vibrations in the steering wheel, says the company.
Choosing to offer three ways through which drivers are made aware of lane changes is a safety feature meant to replace the lack of turn stalk confirmation.
“Each of these notifications is meant to provide drivers with the opportunity to check their surroundings and determine whether they want to cancel the lane change before it’s made,” explains Tesla.
“Cancellations can be made by moving the car’s turn signal or by pressing the lane change cancellation pop-up notification on the car’s touchscreen.”
Despite not having to confirm lane changes, Autopilot still doesn’t make cars autonomous, and the driver’s hands on the steering wheel are still needed for the car to proceed.
Tesla says the new update has already been tested for about half a million miles through the Early Access Program. The global rollout of the update has begun on April 3 for customers in the U.S., with more markets to follow.
Some tampering with the car’s settings needs to be done for the update to work. In the Autopilot Settings menu, the Customize Navigate on Autopilot button now reveals three additional settings – Enable at Start of Every Trip, Require Lane Change Confirmation, and Lane Change Notification.
The first setting, Enable at Start of Every Trip tells Autopilot to automatically turn on each time a navigation route is entered. This means whenever a car is on a highway and a target location is selected, the setting will be on by default.
In the Require Lane Change Confirmation menu, the driver has the option to choose No when prompted. If this is selected, lane changes will take place with no need for confirmation from the driver.
The Lane Change Notification setting tells the car to notify the driver about upcoming lane changes by audio and visual warnings. For cars manufactured after August 2017, warnings about lane changes can also be relayed via vibrations in the steering wheel, says the company.
Choosing to offer three ways through which drivers are made aware of lane changes is a safety feature meant to replace the lack of turn stalk confirmation.
“Each of these notifications is meant to provide drivers with the opportunity to check their surroundings and determine whether they want to cancel the lane change before it’s made,” explains Tesla.
“Cancellations can be made by moving the car’s turn signal or by pressing the lane change cancellation pop-up notification on the car’s touchscreen.”
Despite not having to confirm lane changes, Autopilot still doesn’t make cars autonomous, and the driver’s hands on the steering wheel are still needed for the car to proceed.
Tesla says the new update has already been tested for about half a million miles through the Early Access Program. The global rollout of the update has begun on April 3 for customers in the U.S., with more markets to follow.
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