Tesla Motors Inc. engineers told members of a Senate Commerce Committee they are looking into the role the Tesla ModelS’s cameras and radar played in the fatal crash in April that killed a man using the car’s AutoPilot system, a person familiar with the meeting told Reuters on Friday.
The source, who didn’t want to be identified because the Senate meeting was private, said that Tesla engineers were talking with Congressional staffers, telling them they are “still trying to understand the system failure.” The engineers apparently have two theories into what might have happened.
One theory alleges that both the cameras and radar both failed to detect the crossing tractor-trailer. The second theory is more an assumption. It suggests the radar may have “seen” the oncoming tractor-trailer, but dismissed the object as an overhead bridge or sign, reports KPVI.com.
Joshua Brown, of Canton, Ohio, was killed when his Tesla Model S crashed into the side of a tractor-trailer while traveling about 10 miles over the speed limit with the AutoPilot system engaged. Today’s meeting came at the request of the Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.
There is speculation the committee could also hold a hearing on self-driving technology after Congress comes back from its vacation recess in September. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also reviewing the data logs from the Model S involved in the crash, to better understand the technical aspects of how the system could have failed.
Tesla engineers say that “cross traffic” remains a challenge for automated driving systems. So what is a cross traffic system? A good example is the rear cross-traffic alert system on the 2014 Mazda6. The system tells you if you are backing into oncoming traffic, using a system of two sensors inside the rear bumper.
In the Model S, Tesla is looking at the vehicle’s radar and camera input for the automatic emergency braking system. It should have detected the trailer coming up alongside the car. But if it failed, then engineers have to find out why. Readers may remember that one possible explanation put forth was that the radar could not distinguish the bright white color of the trailer from the sunshine in the sky.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted a Twitter message shortly after the crash, but it was later deleted. It said there was the possibility that the “radar signal had been tuned out.”
