If there’s one thing Tesla loves, it’s exaggerating the capabilities of its Autopilot driver assistance system. I mean, damn it, they love to talk about how much safer it is for the driver and how it will lead to future robot accidents and a bunch of other nonsense, and it will. do like that without using lidar.
The fact is that Autopilot is a relatively feature-rich SAE Level 2 driver assistance system, and that’s it. Of course, that could get worse because, according to one report published on Tuesday by ReutersElectric vehicle manufacturers are currently planning remove more sensors from its means. Specifically the ultrasonic sensors.
Ultrasonic sensors are most commonly used as parking sensors, due to their relatively short operating range. Currently, Tesla cars have 12 ultrasonic sensors divided between the front and rear bumpers, along with several other sensors around the car to detect objects. To replace the lost functionality by getting rid of these ultrasonic sensors, Tesla will once again rely solely on its cameras.
The reason behind the ultrasonic wave rejection is not entirely clear because, as industry expert and analyst Sam Abuelsamid “It will save them a few dollars,” told Reuters. I mean those are pretty cheap. “
Tesla’s quest to ditch sensors and bypass industry-standard technology like lidar has resulted in its “Full Self-Driving” platform becoming anything but. Tesla is lagging industry leaders like Waymo in developing SAE Levels 4 and 5 autonomous vehicle technology, despite what Tesla boss Elon Musk will tell you on Twitter.
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Now, typically in a situation like this, we’d ask Tesla what its reasoning was in a request for an official statement, but because Tesla disbanded its PR department a few years ago, we can’t. Instead, we’ve paid a local hedge witch to commune with the spirits and manifest our questions in Elon’s dreams. We’ll update you if we hear back.
