Tesla plans to update its Autopilot software by this coming Wednesday after it fixes any last minute issues with the system, says CEO Elon Musk. The software update was detailed recently and includes a greater reliance on radar, which was added in 2014 and has so far been a supplementary data source.
@vicentes @EdibleApple Hoping to start WW rollout of 8.0 on Wednesday if no last minute issues discovered.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 16, 2016
Since the radar can sometimes misidentify objects, Autopilot uses a “geocoded whitelist” that will make sure road signs, bridges, and similar things are not considered obstacles. If they were, Autopilot would be braking in a dangerous manner.
Misidentification has been fatal already, prompting some changes. In the case of a crash in May, Autopilot believed a truck was actually an overhead road sign, meaning it didn’t respond as though the driver was in danger. Musk says the new system would not have made that mistake.
