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Old July 6th, 2021 #27
Nikola Bijeliti
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stewart Meadows View Post
The article is behind a paywall, so I was unable to read it. However, I will say this about the matter:

A car must either be self-driving or not self-driving. There is no in between. Just as there is nothing more dangerous than an unloaded weapon, there is nothing more dangerous than an "almost self-driving" car. If a car is not fully self-driving, then the driver must be alert and in control of the vehicle at all times.

There are many features that have the potential to make driving safer. Systems that warn the driver that he is veering out of his lane or that he is approaching the vehicle ahead to closely could make driving safer, provided that the driver does not rely on them. But when these warning systems get so good that the driver is tempted to stop paying attention to the road, even briefly, then a dangerous situation can develop.

I checked the Tesla website, and this is what it has to say:
Quote:
Autopilot
Autopilot advanced safety and convenience features are designed to assist you with the most burdensome parts of driving. Autopilot introduces new features and improves existing functionality to make your Tesla safer and more capable over time.

Autopilot enables your car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane.

Current Autopilot features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.

Enhanced Autopilot
Navigate on AutopilotNavigate on Autopilot suggests lane changes to optimize your route, and makes adjustments so you don’t get stuck behind slow cars or trucks. When active, Navigate on Autopilot will also automatically steer your vehicle toward highway interchanges and exits based on your destination.

Autosteer+
Using advanced cameras, sensors and computing power, your Tesla will navigate tighter, more complex roads.

Smart Summon
With Smart Summon, your car will navigate more complex environments and parking spaces, maneuvering around objects as necessary to come find you in a parking lot.

Full Self-Driving Capability
All new Tesla cars have the hardware needed in the future for full self-driving in almost all circumstances. The system is designed to be able to conduct short and long distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver’s seat.

The future use of these features without supervision is dependent on achieving reliability far in excess of human drivers as demonstrated by billions of miles of experience, as well as regulatory approval, which may take longer in some jurisdictions. As these self-driving capabilities are introduced, your car will be continuously upgraded through over-the-air software updates.
So he calls the feature "Autopilot" but states that the car is not fully autonomous and requires "active driver supervision."

Although I have the greatest respect for Elon Musk, this is irresponsible. Anyone who buys the car and sees that it has a feature called "autopilot" can be expected to treat the car as if it were a self-driving car. The feature should have been given a different name, such as "Driver Assistant."

I can see what Musk is doing here. He is developing a fully self-driving car, which requires a lot of testing, so he is using his customers as testers. It sounds reasonable, but it is a terrible idea. I have learned from personal experience as a software developer that clients do not want to test your products. Even if you tell the client that he will be testing the product and put it in writing in the contract, the client still expects a fully functional, bug-free product from day one. Musk needs to hire professional drivers to test his self-driving cars before marketing them. I know it will slow down development, and it will put him at a disadvantage if his competitors don't follow suit, but it is the only responsible way to do it. I understand where he's coming from and why he's doing it, but it's just not responsible.
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