[AutonomousVehicles] Federal Government Investigating Tesla Autopilot System

[Cornelius Butler]

Hi Fellow Committee Members,
It was just announced that the U.S. Government is investigating Tesla's
autopilot self driving system.
The article  link and full text are below.

Article Link:
https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/16/22626819/tesla-autopilot-crash-emergency-vehicle-probe-nhtsa

Article Text:

US government opens probe into Tesla Autopilot crashes with emergency
vehicles
67
Tesla’s software has well-known problems spotting parked emergency vehicles

By James Vincent  Aug 16, 2021, 8:53am EDT
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The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a
probe into Tesla’s Autopilot software, citing the cars’ repeated collisions
with parked emergency vehicles.

The NHTSA investigation will cover Tesla Models Y, X, S, and 3 vehicles
released from 2014 through 2021. The federal agency says since 2018 it has
logged 11 incidents (which include 17 injuries and one fatality) in which
Tesla vehicles using the company’s Autopilot features, like Traffic-Aware
Cruise Control, have crashed into stationary emergency vehicles. The agency
says most of these incidents took place after dark, with the software
ignoring scene control measures including warning lights, flares, cones,
and an illuminated arrow board.

The investigation will “assess the technologies and methods used to
monitor, assist, and enforce the driver’s engagement with the dynamic
driving task during Autopilot operation,” according to NHTSA’s notes.

A spokesperson for the agency said that the investigation was in its
preliminary stages and primarily concerned with uncovering additional
information about the incidents. The spokesperson noted that the public
should be aware that no commercially available cars are able to drive
themselves, and vehicles always require a human in control at all times.

The inability of driving-assistance software from Tesla and other
automakers to spot parked emergency vehicles is well known. Experts told
Wired in 2018 that the likely cause is that these systems are programmed to
mostly ignore stationary objects, otherwise they might react to all sorts
of items on the side of roads, from signs to buildings.

Wired’s report notes that both Tesla and Volvo’s driving assist manuals
warn drivers about this problem. As Tesla’s says: “Traffic-Aware Cruise
Control cannot detect all objects and may not brake/decelerate for
stationary vehicles, especially in situations when you are driving over 50
mph (80 km/h) and a vehicle you are following moves out of your driving
path and a stationary vehicle or object is in front of you instead.”

The NHTSA has stepped up its scrutiny of Tesla in recent months as the
company’s Autopilot software has been the focus of an increasing number of
crashes. Many industry experts have criticized Tesla for its marketing of
the software, which often suggests that human oversight of the vehicle is
optional.

In April, senators urged the NHTSA to take “corrective actions” against
Tesla and prevent misuse of its driving-assist software, and in June the
agency issued new rules requiring companies like Tesla and Alphabet’s Waymo
to report all incidents involving such systems.

Despite being less than a year old, DJI is updating its popular Mavic Air 2
drone and is releasing the Mavic Air 2S. A drone with a new 1-inch sensor
capable of shooting 5.4K video and 4K video up to 60FPS.

-- 
Cornelius Butler
President
Butler New Media, LLC
"Creating A More Accessible World"
http://www.butlernewmedia.com
email: corn at butlernewmedia.com
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