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Tesla owner says Autopilot automatically regained control after slide-video

13 points by heshiebee 8y ago

Traster 8y ago
Firstly, if your car goes out of control whilst on cruise control don't do nothing. This driver was reckless. Secondly, do go around advertising that 'Autopilot' will do things like this - it's completely unverified and spreads a dangerous rumour. How long until some idiot tries to recreate this?
- heshiebee 8y ago
  I don't think it's impossible. There are proven techniques to recover from slides and regain car control. As human beings we tend to overreact and rarely get it right when correcting loss of control but a computer when using preprogrammed techniques and has access to many more variables can at least perform at the skill level of a pro driver.
  - Traster 8y ago
    I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying if you don't know that the system is designed for that it's dumb to take the risk, and it working once is not a guarantee it's going to work twice.
CodeWriter23 8y ago
I’m thinking a real “Auto Pilot” would have sensed the road conditions and slowed the vehicle before it slid out of control. Still cool that it could recover from such a situation however.
natch 8y ago
I drove a Model 3 AWD to a snowy and icy area this vacation and have to say the traction control is phenomenal. I mean really astounding. I was able to climb steep hills that the car had NO right to climb, with summer tires, that locals (presumably with 4WD or AWD and snow tires, though I can't be sure, but these are people who live in snow covered mountains) were giving up on and backing out of. The trick was going very slow... in the steepest parts, as slow as a fraction of walking speed. Which admittedly won't always work if an aggressive driver relying on momentum is charging up behind you, but I was watching my back. Yeah, I may have just gotten lucky. But I think with snow tires the car would have been a beast on the same hill. Later on a wide, empty, mostly flat road covered with ice I attempted many times to break traction and induce a slide, and the vehicle maintained control at all times. Again, summer tires. I am an experienced snow/ice driver having grown up in a snowy, mountainous area. The car is seriously impressive in winter conditions. It's no coincidence that Tesla's largest sales numbers per capita are in Norway. None of this comment was about autopilot, but I believe autopilot can leverage the same traction control and couple it with autopilot features so I wouldn't be surprised if this video is not just a fluke... time will tell.
- zozbot123 8y ago
  > The trick was going very slow... in the steepest parts, as slow as a fraction of walking speed. Yup, that's how electric motors work: they deliver full power even at very low speeds, so you can increase torque simply by going slower - no need to "shift to a lower gear" in order to keep the engine in its high-power range!
  - natch 8y ago
    Yup indeed. Not sure why you are getting downvoted but it’s not by me.
dzhiurgis 8y ago
I've always had impression that in most cars of past 10 years with ESP/ESC it would be impossible to loose control like that. I've had slipped once on snowy road and ESP/ESC was immediate to regain control. I've slipped maybe 50cm sideways. Mate tried to showcase this on gravel road and it was impossible to loose control of the car (circa year 2000 Opel). How is it possible to swerve so much with Tesla? Has anyone lost control this much with ESP/ESC before?
ganeshkrishnan 8y ago
The first clue that it's dangerous up ahead is the rest of the cars braking and driving slower. That should have been his hint to slow down. Also, even if it's a current generation fully automated self driving car, don't leave it on auto pilot under such conditions.
rasz 8y ago
Sceptic in me says this video was trivial to fake.

13 points by heshiebee 8y ago

Firstly, if your car goes out of control whilst on cruise control don't do nothing. This driver was reckless. Secondly, do go around advertising that 'Autopilot' will do things like this - it's completely unverified and spreads a dangerous rumour. How long until some idiot tries to recreate this?

heshiebee 8y ago
I don't think it's impossible. There are proven techniques to recover from slides and regain car control. As human beings we tend to overreact and rarely get it right when correcting loss of control but a computer when using preprogrammed techniques and has access to many more variables can at least perform at the skill level of a pro driver.
- Traster 8y ago
  I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying if you don't know that the system is designed for that it's dumb to take the risk, and it working once is not a guarantee it's going to work twice.

CodeWriter23 8y ago

I’m thinking a real “Auto Pilot” would have sensed the road conditions and slowed the vehicle before it slid out of control. Still cool that it could recover from such a situation however.

natch 8y ago

I drove a Model 3 AWD to a snowy and icy area this vacation and have to say the traction control is phenomenal. I mean really astounding. I was able to climb steep hills that the car had NO right to climb, with summer tires, that locals (presumably with 4WD or AWD and snow tires, though I can't be sure, but these are people who live in snow covered mountains) were giving up on and backing out of. The trick was going very slow... in the steepest parts, as slow as a fraction of walking speed. Which admittedly won't always work if an aggressive driver relying on momentum is charging up behind you, but I was watching my back. Yeah, I may have just gotten lucky. But I think with snow tires the car would have been a beast on the same hill. Later on a wide, empty, mostly flat road covered with ice I attempted many times to break traction and induce a slide, and the vehicle maintained control at all times. Again, summer tires. I am an experienced snow/ice driver having grown up in a snowy, mountainous area. The car is seriously impressive in winter conditions. It's no coincidence that Tesla's largest sales numbers per capita are in Norway. None of this comment was about autopilot, but I believe autopilot can leverage the same traction control and couple it with autopilot features so I wouldn't be surprised if this video is not just a fluke... time will tell.

zozbot123 8y ago
> The trick was going very slow... in the steepest parts, as slow as a fraction of walking speed. Yup, that's how electric motors work: they deliver full power even at very low speeds, so you can increase torque simply by going slower - no need to "shift to a lower gear" in order to keep the engine in its high-power range!
- natch 8y ago
  Yup indeed. Not sure why you are getting downvoted but it’s not by me.

dzhiurgis 8y ago

I've always had impression that in most cars of past 10 years with ESP/ESC it would be impossible to loose control like that. I've had slipped once on snowy road and ESP/ESC was immediate to regain control. I've slipped maybe 50cm sideways. Mate tried to showcase this on gravel road and it was impossible to loose control of the car (circa year 2000 Opel). How is it possible to swerve so much with Tesla? Has anyone lost control this much with ESP/ESC before?

ganeshkrishnan 8y ago

The first clue that it's dangerous up ahead is the rest of the cars braking and driving slower. That should have been his hint to slow down. Also, even if it's a current generation fully automated self driving car, don't leave it on auto pilot under such conditions.

rasz 8y ago

Sceptic in me says this video was trivial to fake.