Tesla could soon offer its FSD (full-self-driving) Autopilot service to many drivers. However, US safety officials are not happy about this. TechCrunch has seen a new MIT study that shows they have cause to be worried. Researchers looked at glance data to find that Tesla's Autopilot system makes drivers less attentive.
According to the study, "Visual behavior patterns changed before and after [Autopilot] disconnect." Drivers looked more at non-driving areas before disengagement and less on the road after transition to manual driving. Longer glances ahead did not compensate for the higher number of off-road glances prior to disengagement.
Visual behavior patterns are different before and after AP Disengagement. Drivers looked more at non-driving areas before disengagement and less on the road after manual driving. Longer glances ahead did not compensate for the higher number of off-road glances prior to disengagement.
It's not surprising that Autopilot may cause drivers to not pay as much attention when driving. The new thing is that researchers were able see exactly where drivers looked when Autopilot was active and when it was off.
Off-road glances were directed toward the center stack area and down, so they "were probably not driving related." Instead, these glances are often associated with activities such as looking down at a smartphone or using the touchscreen of the center-stack infotainment touchscreen. According to the paper, those were more common with Autopilot engaged than off-road glances when manual driving was used.
Tesla's FSD (full-selective driving) Autopilot, despite its name, is not fully autonomous and a driver assistance system. It requires drivers to keep their hands on and stay alert. However, Tesla does not use cameras or any other monitoring devices to ensure this alertness.
Although the latest version 10.0.1 is said to make more confident decisions on roads, it has only been released to a small number of beta testers. Tesla intends to make it more widely available starting September 24, but it may not release it to all Autopilot EVs until a seven-day trial that will monitor owner behavior.
However, the new release could put Tesla in direct competition with US regulators. Jennifer Homendy, head of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), stated recently that Tesla should not release its latest software update until it addresses "basic safety problems." She was also not thrilled that Tesla is essentially beta-testing new software on the streets.
