Tesla will be sending out an update that will allow users to download the Navigate on Autopilot feature. The new driver assistance feature was kept in the testing phase for a while, but it’s finally available. The announcement was made by CEO of Tesla Elon Musk on Twitter.
The Navigate on Autopilot can be turned on when a destination is entered.
The Navigate on Autopilot feature allows Tesla vehicles to go from highway to ramp and vice versa.
Even the lane changes require human input. If the vehicle suggests lane change, the driver will have to confirm by selecting the turn signal. But future iterations of the feature will allow it to be turned off.
Tesla wrote, “While initially, the feature will require drivers to confirm lane changes using the turn stalk before the car moves into an adjacent lane, future versions of Navigate on Autopilot will allow customers to waive the confirmation requirement.”
Musk Tweeted, “Tesla Autopilot Drive on Navigation going to wide release in North America tonight.” The charismatic CEO believes that this feature will be Tesla’s most advanced till date. The update will be a driver assistance feature, which was due for release in early October, but was postponed.
The Autopilot Drive on Navigation which is more commonly referred as Navigate on Autopilot was supposed to release with the latest version of its in-car software, version 9.0. A blog post by Tesla later confirmed this.
Tesla users who had bought enhanced Autopilot or full self-driving capability will receive the update this week. These optional features go for $5,000 and $3,000 respectively. A word of advice for the non-tech savvy, Tesla’ Autopilot is not self-driving. Instead, it is a driver assistant.
Full self-driving enhancement will be removed from the website, but it is still something that customers can buy later on. Navigate on Pilot will be a small leap in the right direction. The direction being fully aware self-driving cars.
Navigate on Autopilot will allow 2 different modes of lane changing. One of them will be speed based to allow the vehicle to match the user’s required speed. The other option will allow the car to make lane changes to stick as close to the original route as possible.
Meanwhile, the speed based lane changes will have four settings; disabled, mild, average, and Mad Max. These settings will allow the vehicle to change lane to a faster lane. It is useful if the car is behind a slow-moving loader.
Mild setting kicks in when the driver is moving along at a plodding pace. Mad Max will cause lane shifts when the vehicle is just below the driver’s preferred speed.
Tesla has to be wary of the several deaths that occurred in the past as a result of its Autopilot setting. Drivers weren’t familiar with this feature. Going in the future, Tesla will need to do a lot of testing and demos of its features to prevent such mishaps.
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