Tesla's Autonomous Driving System To Use Updated Radar Technology

Electric carmaker Tesla recently announced that it is upgrading the autopilot software to use more advanced radar technology. Tesla's founder and CEO, Elon Musk, said that the update, which should be downloadable in two weeks for models delivered after October 2014, would have saved the life of the driver who died a few months ago after colliding against a trailer.

Musk said that, with the latest updates, the system would have identified a ‘large metal object across the road’. Tesla also claims that this technology, which will now be used as a primary control sensor for the car, will easily see through fog, dust rain or snow. The system is any day better than relying on the standard camera system. "It should work for something like a moose, because a moose is quite a big mass, but it may not work for something like a small deer," Musk added.

The updated technology will let the car determine any changes in the lead cars movement  avoiding a crash. The carmaker also explained, “The net effect of this, combined with the fact that radar sees through most visual obscuration, is that the car should almost always hit the brakes correctly even if a UFO were to land on the freeway in zero visibility conditions."

Tesla estimates that the new system is an improvement on the safety of its current vehicles and that once the new tech takes over the old one, the electric carmaker will drastically improve safety in its vehicles. The carmaker also claims that having zero death or zero injuries is not entirely possible.