Tesla Vision in the Model 3 and Model Y will soon rely only on cameras, unlike the competition, which increasingly uses radars and LIDARs.
Tesla is gearing up to incorporate a new technology called ‘Tesla Vision’ into its best-selling vehicles, the Model Y and Model 3. With this tech, the vehicles will rely entirely on a camera-based system instead of existing radar technology for features like autopilot, lane changing assists, and complete self-driving.
Tesla has always been a step ahead of its competitors in EV production, and using a visual-based system for autonomy is a significant breakthrough. Most carmakers rely extensively on radar systems for sensing nearby objects at speed and in poor weather conditions, but the American tech giant is moving forward to change the game.
The brand’s CEO Elon Musk has always been quite vocal against radar systems and has also described LIDAR as ‘a fool’s errand.’ Musk has been a long supporter of autonomous solutions to autopilot and self-driving systems that involve cameras and ultrasonic sensors.
Radars and LIDARS are pretty expensive, and it takes significant computing power to process the data from these sensing systems. Tesla had told earlier that a sole camera-based system is what it takes to provide complete autonomy and that the brand plans on switching to it in the US market.
However, the transition won’t be easy for Tesla, and initially, the vehicles will face some limitations. For instance, Auto-steer will only function up to 75 mph. Besides, other driver’s assistance features like Smart Summon and Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance will be disabled upon deliveries.
Other autopilot features will run normally, and the systems mentioned above will also return to normal functioning with eventual software updates.
Initially, only the Model 3 and Model Y will inherit Tesla’s Vision since they are the best-selling models in the lineup, meaning the brand can gather data more quickly. Tesla believes that this would help them to integrate the technology into other vehicles more efficiently.
However, Tesla continuously warns its customers that advanced driving assistance systems still need active human supervision. Hence, always keep your eyes on the road, irrespective of modern driving assistance systems.
