It’s something that’s been spoken about in hushed whispers
in the automotive industry since the end of World War II. It’s something that,
time and time again, the critics and industry experts have said the technology
wasn’t ready for, and that it may never happen. But they have been proven
wrong, for it is just a few steps away from reality. This technology of the
future is the self-driving car, and pioneer American automaker Tesla is just
shy of creating it.
As of
last week, all owners of Tesla P85 and P85D model automobiles saw a prompt on
the display screen in their car to upgrade to “Version 7.0”, which included
some relatively hum-drum things for the owners of a $100,000 luxury car- a
self-parallel-parking feature similar to that used on some Fords, a new background
for the electronic instruments in the
car, and activation of the side collision warning sensors- but, if one splurges
for the $2500 Autopilot system, that is where things get interesting.
Automotive
magazine and new car authority Road & Track was given the opportunity to try
out the Autopilot system on a P85D model, and to really test it’s meddle, they
chose to take it to New York city to go head-to-head with rush hour traffic
there. This is the exact opposite of the scenario in which the engineers behind
the Autopilot feature designed it for, but this just goes to prove how good the
system really is, as the test driver and author of the article, Robert
Sorokanich, had almost no faults to call Tesla out on.
The
idea behind the system is simple- accelerate the car to a speed above 17 miles
per hour, and tap the cruise control stalk twice, and Autopilot is engaged. Unlike
many other current attempts at autonomous cars, you may fully remove your hands
from the steering wheel once Autopilot has taken control; the system will beep
at you if it finds something it cannot handle on its own. Sorokanich had only a
few qualms with the self-steering system, citing that it would occasionally get
a tad closer to large vehicles (i.e. tractor trailers, box trucks, etc.) than
he would have preferred, and that the car could sometimes act in an awkward
manner if another driver cut you off, as the system is programmed to keep a
safe distance between itself and other vehicles while in Autopilot mode.
Finally, the car cannot currently handle intersections or stoplights on its own
without another vehicle in front of it. However, any one of these situations could
be remedied by tapping on the brake, as that deactivates Autopilot and allows
you to regain control of the vehicle, much like a traditional cruise control
system.
Other
than those few instances, the car drove itself superbly, so much so that it is
doubtful that many other drivers on the road recognized that the Tesla was a
self-driving automobile. But the real question that Tesla, as well as all other
auto manufacturers experimenting with self-driving cars, should be asking is
this: are you ready to let your car drive itself?
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