Tesla’s Autopilot 8.0 Can Avoid a Crash Before it Happens

With the Tesla Model 3 set to hit consumers sometime in 2017, ensuring that Supercharging stations aren’t completely packed with drivers will be an absolute imperative. This is likely due to Autopilot’s increased reliance on radar technology which allows the software to more ably detect upcoming obstacles on the road and even “see through” the vehicle traveling directly ahead. Hans Noordsij, the man behind the wheel also said the people in the cars that crashed were fortunately ok.

Gizmodo reports this crash from just a couple of days ago in the Netherlands, where Tesla’s Autopilot AI system literally started braking and warning of a crash ahead – before it actually happened. After its alert, the Autopilot reportedly hit the brakes, keeping the vehicle out of harm’s way by a hair.

The vehicle in the video was equipped with Tesla’s 8.0 Autopilot software, which operates by using radar technology to see obstacles and objects around it.

How many deliveries Tesla makes for the year will have an impact on investor confidence in the company going forward.

A new radar technology made available by Tesla over-the-air in September allows the processing system on a Tesla Model X to see what is happening two vehicles ahead even if the view is obstructed.

It’s an example of how Tesla has progressively – and, particularly for the auto industry, rapidly – upgraded its Model S and Model X vehicles, not just patching problems as per traditional automaker recalls, but noticeably improving systems. Not only did the system predicted the mishap in advance, it also slowed down and stopped the Tesla from crashing into the toppled SUV ahead. Tesla’s Autopilot uses an array of radar and visual sensors to detect its surroundings. In May, Tesla announced that its owners had driven 100 million miles with Autopilot active. Throughout, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has insisted the company’s software would be safer than human drivers, sharply reducing the more than 1.25 million global traffic fatalities each year.