The dashboard of Tesla 'D' model electric sedan is seen on a giant screen in 2014. (Photo : Getty Images/Kevork Djansezian)
Volvo's Senior Technical Leader of crash avoidance, Trent Victor, said Tesla's autopilot tech is a semi-autonomous technology but it gives the impression that it can do more than its capability. The autopilot tech by Tesla enables the car to effectively drive itself on the highway. At launch, the drivers did not touch the wheel to indicate they were awake in the driver's seat.
Tesla's level 2 autopilot tech gives an impression that it is designed to take over "safety-critical functions" from the driver, according to The Verge's Jordan Golson who tested the car on a long trip in March. He drove on the highway for minutes without touching the wheel.
While the driver still has to focus on the road in case of unexpected developments, the car can self-drive at an appropriate speed if things are going well. However, the problem is the "unexpected developments."
"It gives you the impression that it's doing more than it is," Victor said in an interview with the online news website. "[Tesla's Autopilot] is more of an unsupervised wannabe." In short, the automaker created a semi-autonomous car that appears to be autonomous.
Level 3 autonomy is when the driver has to be ready to take over anytime in an unsafe solution. The driver is theoretically freed up so he can watch a video or check his email while the car is driving itself.
Tesla's autopilot can turn itself off when trouble comes, and the driver has to take over or accidents can happen. Volvo believes it is not realistic to expect the driver to be alert to take over immediately, Victor told the news site. He said it is important for an auto firm to make the autopilot different, so people know it is semi-autonomous or unsupervised autonomous.
Tesla's auto design philosophy trusts the drivers to take appropriate decision while Volvo keeps the driver from trouble. For the latter, when the human driver does not take over as he has fallen asleep, or watching a video, then the automaker will still take responsibility. "We won't just turn [autonomous mode] off," Victor told the onine news site. "We take responsibility and we'll be stopping the vehicle if you don't take over."
Volvo is set to launch Drive Me autonomous car, which is a level 4 auto car, designed to drive itself but it also capable of handling any situation that it comes across with, sans any human intervention. The driver does not need to be involved. If something is wrong, the car can stop at the side of the road safely.
Volvo has been silently pacing past Tesla when it comes to car autonomous tech. It is designing the feature to be different from its competitors, Bidness Etc has learned in an interview with the automaker's autonomous driving project director, Marcus Rothoff in March. Volvo plans to make the car ride entirely hands free and almost without the driver's involvement.
Volvo is bold enough to take full responsibility for any crash or injury caused by the vehicle in driverless mode. It makes it stand among the other competitors and plans to make its cars "death proof" by the end of the decade.
Driving the Tesla Model X with autopilot is shown in the video below.
