Tesla has begun promoting a new software update to increase the maximum autopilot speed for cars with Tesla Vision to 85 mph.
It’s been almost a year since Tesla announced the transition to autopilot “Tesla Vision” without radar.
The idea was that he would move only to the use of computer-based computer vision in his autopilot system, rather than to the use of input from both cameras and radars.
One would think that more data would be better, but Tesla’s idea is that roads are designed for people who control them using a vision system with their natural neural networks in the brain. The automaker believes it is best to try to replicate this solely with cameras and artificial neural networks and not allow radar data to contaminate it.
However, Tesla warned that the transition would initially lead to limitations on some autopilot functions.
One of these restrictions was the maximum speed at which Autosteer, the main function of the autopilot that keeps the vehicle in lane, was limited to 75 miles per hour.
It was quickly increased to 80 miles per hour, but it remained at that speed for a while, and the owners asked Tesla to increase it. A conventional autopilot with radar will have a top speed of 90 miles per hour.
Tesla has now begun raising the limit for vision-only vehicles to 85 mph, according to an update on the Tesla website (a tip for Artsyom Rusakovsky):
“Automatic control will be limited to a maximum speed of 85 miles per hour and a greater minimum distance for the next movement.”
It’s not exactly comparable to autopilot just for preview, but it gets closer in terms of top speed.
Although there are other bigger problems that the vision system alone has brought to the autopilot.
As we reported earlier, phantom braking error messages have increased since Tesla switched to autopilot just for sight.
Back in November, Electric crackle published a report entitled “Tesla has a serious problem with phantom braking in autopilot.‘
This highlighted the significant increase in the number of Tesla owners who report dangerous phantom braking events on autopilot.
Phantom braking is a term used to describe when an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) or self-steering system applies brakes without good reason.
The system can falsely detect an object on the road or predict a collision that does not actually occur, and apply braking to avoid it.
Obviously, phantom braking is something you want to avoid, as it can cause an accident if someone follows you too close.
This problem is not new on Tesla’s autopilot, but our report focused on the fact that Tesla drivers noticed a clear increase in cases based on anecdotal evidence, but this was also backed up by a clear increase in complaints at NHTSA.
We have linked the start of increasing phantom braking reports with the move to Tesla Vision.
Our report flew several other publications, but it did not become mainstream until the Washington Post picked up the story with a very similar report which was more common earlier this year.
It has since been announced by NHTSA investigation into the problem of phantom autopilot braking.
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https://electrek.co/2022/05/18/tesla-increases-top-speed-autopilot-vision/