One change I'd LOVE to see for Autopilot...

[HX_Guy]

It would be great if in a future update, Tesla would change the engage/disengage of Autopilot, and really specifically Autosteer.

Current when AP is active, the driver really has no control at all...its very on or off, no in between. I'd love to see it where it would let the driver take over, but then when the driver releases the steering wheel, the system would re-engage. This would be extremely useful in lane changes or to override the system say when going by a semi truck or tight spaces.

Anyone else feel a need for this? Think that Tesla may make this change in the future?

 

[Tam]

...driver take over, but then when the driver releases the steering wheel, the system would re-engage...

In the past, you could re-engage Autopilot after ignoring a series of reminding messages.

To encourage compliance, Tesla has made the system stricter and it has penalized drivers who ignored reminding messages by taking Autopilot privilege away until you restart your drive again.

I suspect when the system will work much better that won't need much of driver's attention, the penalties will be lessen.

 

[kirkbauer]

A while ago I suggested that you should be able to nudge the lane position by putting a little torque on the steering wheel (like you do when it asks you to hold the wheel). This could let you favor part of the lane for whatever reason.

 

[bktiger86]

It would be great if in a future update, Tesla would change the engage/disengage of Autopilot, and really specifically Autosteer.

Current when AP is active, the driver really has no control at all...its very on or off, no in between. I'd love to see it where it would let the driver take over, but then when the driver releases the steering wheel, the system would re-engage. This would be extremely useful in lane changes or to override the system say when going by a semi truck or tight spaces.

Anyone else feel a need for this? Think that Tesla may make this change in the future?

Good idea, but I have a feeling that some people have no idea if the autopilot is on or off. There are a lot of dumb people out there. What I also want to see in Autopilot is that when it detects a curve on the road via camera or gps, it would slow down.

 

[pilotSteve]

In airplanes (jets) there is usually a feature called something's like "control wheel steering" that is a button on the yoke (steering wheel) that, while depressed, lets the pilot move the controls while the AP remains engaged but inactive, overriding the automation until it is released. Then the autopilot takes over again. I would love a feature like this.

 

[EinSV]

In airplanes (jets) there is usually a feature called something's like "control wheel steering" that is a button on the yoke (steering wheel) that, while depressed, lets the pilot move the controls while the AP remains engaged but inactive, overriding the automation until it is released. Then the autopilot takes over again. I would love a feature like this.

Love it -- that would be awesome!

 

[HX_Guy]

Doesn't even have to be that "complicated". My wife's E300 already does this...though the auto steering is much poorer than on the Tesla, it does exactly what I'm describing above. The auto steering disengages if you override it with manual steering, then re-engages again automatically when you are no longer manually steering.

 

[EinSV]

Doesn't even have to be that "complicated". My wife's E300 already does this...though the auto steering is much poorer than on the Tesla, it does exactly what I'm describing above. The auto steering disengages if you override it with manual steering, then re-engages again automatically when you are no longer manually steering.

I have not tried that but it does not sound ideal. Seems safer for there to be no ambiguity about who (driver or AP) is controlling the vehicle as with the system @pilotSteve is describing.

 

[Saghost]

One of the most dangerous aspects of any automated control system is the handoff - a number of aircraft have been lost over the years because someone thought they had autopilot engaged and didn't, or even because both pilots thought the other one was flying the plane. That's why pilots have very clear transfer rituals to make sure that the one in charge knows they are.

This is one of the areas that makes Tesla much better than the competition, with the clear handoffs. What you're proposing would make it less clear when the system was engaged and when it wasn't, and I disagree with it for that reason.

 

[Petra]

A while ago I suggested that you should be able to nudge the lane position by putting a little torque on the steering wheel (like you do when it asks you to hold the wheel). This could let you favor part of the lane for whatever reason.

Uh, you used to be able to do this with AP1... just apply pressure right up to the disengagement point and the car could be nudged to the left or right within a lane--I used to do it all the time to make more room for lane splitting motorcycles. Unfortunately, one of the updates a while back changed the way the disengagement point works (switched from a sharp release to a softer, gradual one) which made the nudging technique pretty much impossible.

 

[HX_Guy]

One of the most dangerous aspects of any automated control system is the handoff - a number of aircraft have been lost over the years because someone thought they had autopilot engaged and didn't, or even because both pilots thought the other one was flying the plane. That's why pilots have very clear transfer rituals to make sure that the one in charge knows they are.

This is one of the areas that makes Tesla much better than the competition, with the clear handoffs. What you're proposing would make it less clear when the system was engaged and when it wasn't, and I disagree with it for that reason.

The indicator icon on the IC is pretty clear, no?

 

[Saghost]

The indicator icon on the IC is pretty clear, no?

Tesla has tried to make it distinctive, but no, that's not nearly enough. That's why they went the rest of the way with the always present audible tone and the clear handoff of steering.

Once people get into the habit of something working a given way, a less than one inch item on a display is nowhere near enough to clue them in that it is or isn't happening the way they think.

Honestly, in Tesla's position I'd be tempted to switch back to the meatball display they use on Pre-AP cars when AP isn't engaged, so the cluster looks completely different.

The only reason I might consider not doing that is it's also useful to know how much the car is understanding when you're considering engaging the system.