Last week, an Uber self-driving Volvo ran over a jaywalker in Tempe, Arizona, with fatal consequences. A few days later, a Tesla Model X that might have had Autopilot engaged crashed and burned in California.
As you all know, Tesla’s vehicles are as appealing for testers as are iPhones. So it didn’t take long for somebody to put through its paces Tesla’s ability to avoid a collision in circumstances similar to the ones which occurred in Arizona.
Mind you, what you are about to see below is not an official test, but one conducted by Youtuber A Digital Nomad. The circumstances are not the same either, as the speed is lower (24 mph vs. Uber’s 38 mph), the test subject is a lamp wearing a coat, not a real human being, and Tesla uses Bosch-sourced radar, not Aptiv, as Uber’s Volvo.
The result, however, is uncannily similar. Uber’s car did not attempt to stop as it approached the pedestrian, as if not seeing the obstacle entirely. Tesla’s Autopilot did the same and only stopped after the driver pressed the brakes.
According to the man who posted the video, during all three attempts, the radar failed to spot the lamp sitting in the middle of the road.
The capabilities of Tesla’s system aren't quite fully known. When the 8.0 version of the Autopilot was introduced (the same featured in the video), Elon Musk reportedly said that auto-braking might work “for something like a moose, but it may not work for say a small deer.”
Back in 2016, another test (second video below), conducted by Kman Auto with a real human in the middle of the road found that the system does brake, even if the display doesn’t show anything in the car’s path.
The system activated both when the human was stationary in the middle of the road, but also when he stepped in from the side of the road.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News