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Tesla tragedy won't thwart self-driving evolution

Lauren Kate Rawlins
By Lauren Kate Rawlins, ITWeb digital and innovation contributor.
Johannesburg, 04 Jul 2016
Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously cautioned the autopilot feature on the Model S is still in beta.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously cautioned the autopilot feature on the Model S is still in beta.

One fatality in a car with autopilot activated, although tragic, will not hinder the development of self-driving technology, say analysts.

Last week, news broke that the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating a recent crash which involved a Tesla Model S with autopilot activated, resulting in the death of 40-year-old Joshua Brown.

Tesla responded with condolences and explained in a blog post: "What we know is that the vehicle was on a divided highway with autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S. Neither autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied."

"In my opinion, that would place the blame on the test driver more than on the technology," says ICT commentator, Adrian Schofield.

"It does suggest the forward-facing cameras need to be supplemented with a radar or laser distance measuring tool that checks for such 'invisible' objects.

"The erratic and unpredictable behaviour of humans behind the wheel places exceptional demands on the designers of the algorithms and developers of the software in driverless vehicles. Such behaviour makes testing for every circumstance an impossible task," says Schofield.

One in over a million

Tesla went on to say: "This is the first known fatality in just over 130 million miles [209 million kilometres] where autopilot was activated. Among all vehicles in the US, there is a fatality every 94 million miles [151 million kilometres]. Worldwide, there is a fatality approximately every 60 million miles [96.5 million kilometres]."

Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, says: "We have evidence day after day, hour after hour, that human-driven cars are not safe. More than 10 000 people a year die on South African roads. We have never heard even a whisper that humans should be stopped from driving cars.

"A single fatality from a limited autopilot feature, and we hear the media bleating for greater regulation. It is an absurdity," says Goldstuck.

The Tesla Model S has autopilot features that allow it to drive itself.
The Tesla Model S has autopilot features that allow it to drive itself.

South African-born Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, cautioned last year when the autopilot feature was released to the public that the functionality was in beta mode and full "hands-off" driving was not recommended.

For drivers, "we're very clearly saying this is not a case of abdicating responsibility", Musk said at the time. "That will come at some point in the future but ... this is still early days."

"One could argue the point that Tesla put temptation in the way of drivers, not to pay attention to the road, by virtue of simply giving an autopilot feature," says Brian Neilson, director at BMI-TechKnowledge.

"But where does one stop with such an argument, given the impact of texting while driving is probably far greater, and equally due to drivers being tempted not to pay attention to the road - in this case by their smartphones," says Neilson.

Driverless race

Reuters reported the accident has highlighted tensions surrounding efforts to turn over responsibility for braking, steering and driving judgments to machines, and that it may delay the US government's plan to outline guidelines for self-driving cars this month.

However, Goldstuck emphasises automated driver-assist technology is not the same as autonomous driving.

"For example, right now, the Volvo XC90 car being sold in South Africa offers automated functions like pilot assist, which maintains a set speed or distance to the car in front, and queue assist, which controls acceleration, braking and steering while one is following the vehicle in front in slow-moving queues. One wouldn't rely on either of these to take over the driving, merely to assist with a smoother and safer ride.

"The bottom line is that most people responsible for the knee-jerk reactions we are seeing at the moment are confusing automatic features with autonomous features," says Goldstuck.

Google and other companies are racing to get self-driving cars on US roads. Google has logged considerable mileage of test driving, but has not said when it would offer its technology for sale.

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