Tesla Autopilot’s new radar technology predicts another car's accident

[Agni]

https://electrek.co/2016/12/27/tesla...ident-dashcam/

This is why BMW needs to stop relying on 3rd party suppliers (Mobile Eye) and start making their own in house technology. Otherwise BMW will be so far behind Tesla. It may not be apparent now how far ahead Tesla is, but it will be in 5yrs once the Model 3s are fully in production and in the market.

[GuidoK]

I dont think it predicts the accident, but it sees the cars in front braking harder than usual.
The car in front isnt paying attention enough on how hard they brake when he is changing lane (probably checking his blind spot) trying to cut a piece off the traffic jam (thats why he is changing lanes, to drive by the group that is braking).

The tesla starts to beep after it sees the cars past the car in front hitting the brakes. The car in front of the car in front was braking for over more than 2 seconds before the tesla starts to beep (you can see its brake ligths; irl it would be more apparant because this is a wide angle view camera)
In fact it does exactly the same as you learn during driving lessons, always look 2-5 cars ahead and not focus just on the car directly in front.

But it is not something you can rely on, in this video the system gets pretty confused in an otherwise pretty clear situation, which shows that the system is only as good as its programmed:

I wonder if the car here was on autopilot, because I cant imagine that a normal driver with this speed (this is like? 10-20mph?) would have crashed into that rather large van. That shows that giving drivers this technology on which they will start to rely on also has its dangers.

[Agni]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

I dont think it predicts the accident, but it sees the cars in front braking harder than usual.
The car in front isnt paying attention enough on how hard they brake when he is changing lane (probably checking his blind spot) trying to cut a piece off the traffic jam (thats why he is changing lanes, to drive by the group that is braking).

The tesla starts to beep after it sees the cars past the car in front hitting the brakes. The car in front of the car in front was braking for over more than 2 seconds before the tesla starts to beep (you can see its brake ligths; irl it would be more apparant because this is a wide angle view camera)
In fact it does exactly the same as you learn during driving lessons, always look 2-5 cars ahead and not focus just on the car directly in front.

But it is not something you can rely on, in this video the system gets pretty confused in an otherwise pretty clear situation, which shows that the system is only as good as its programmed:

I wonder if the car here was on autopilot, because I cant imagine that a normal driver with this speed (this is like? 10-20mph?) would have crashed into that rather large van. That shows that giving drivers this technology on which they will start to rely on also has its dangers.

Agreed, but focusing two cars ahead is easier said than done in real life.

Also, the version in your video is the older system, not the new upgraded one.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by Agni

Agreed, but focusing two cars ahead is easier said than done in real life.

I personally have no problem with that, I was taught to do that during driving school so I dont know anything else. I immediately notice that when I'm driving behind a van or SUV with tinted windows so that you cant see the car in front, which gives me a far bigger insecure feeling. I imagine the tesla would have the same imparities in that situation. In the situation of this video you can see the cars in front through the windscreen, thats how I could see that the cars in front were already braking for over 2 seconds. From inside the car with your own eyes it would be even more apparant because the camera angle is a fish eye so everything looks really far away.

Also, the version in your video is the older system, not the new upgraded one.

So tesla guarantees that these crashes wont occur again? I dont think they guarantee anything. And that is the danger of this system. If you give people these tools, they start to rely on them. Tesla tries to cover their ass by saying you have to pay equal attention as when normal driving, but that is not the reason why people buy/use these gadgets.
Also you only get notified on situations the car does see, but not on situations the car doesnt see. And that makes it a really dangerous gadget, because you dont know when to intervene and when not to.

And those are the reasons these types of accidents occur. A normal driver would have easily been able to avoid such a crash is a huge van at these speeds.

[Agni]

So I think there is a reason Tesla calls the system "Auto Pilot" It is meant to imply exactly how the system in an Airplane works.

In an airplane, the pilots are always in the cabin and they are not watching movies or sleeping...

Now people unfortunately don't understand that and assume it means they don't have to pay attention. Car makers in general need to make that point across.