Consumer Reports came out with a new report on concerns about Tesla’s use of the driver-facing camera, and they raised an interesting question: If Tesla can determine that drivers are not paying attention, it should not warn drivers at that moment, like most drivers monitoring systems?
Tesla has had a driver-facing camera for years, but the company does not use it. Instead, the carmaker’s only driver monitoring system for Autopilot is a torque sensor on the steering wheel.
Tesla has often been criticized for not using more advanced ways to monitor the driver’s attention and control. Consumer Reports was one of those critics, and now they are again following new information.
Last week we reported on Tesla and confirmed that he is now using the driver camera in the Full Self-Driving Beta program to monitor attention.
CEO Elon Musk even said the carmaker removed some Tesla owners from the program after determining they were not paying enough attention to the system.
Now Jake Fisher, senior director of Consumer Reportsan auto testing center, argues that if Tesla now has the ability to monitor attention, they should implement a system to alert drivers if they do not pay attention:
If Tesla has the ability to determine if the driver is not paying attention, he should warn the driver at the moment, as other car manufacturers are already doing.
In the report, they refer to other car manufacturers doing exactly that, such as GM with the Supercruise.
However, the publication also claims that there are certain privacy considerations as Tesla removes the videos from the cabin camera.
Electrek’s Take
Normally I do not agree with most CR‘s complaints about Autopilot, like when they complain about the name, but I give credit where credit goes, and that’s a good question they raise.
Literally anything is better than Tesla’s current driver monitoring system with a torque sensor on the steering wheel.
I do believe that makes Tesla’s Autopilot richer, but only if the driver always pays attention. The system alleviates some driving duties, enabling you to use more brain power to pay attention along the way.
If people abuse the system, Tesla should be able to warn them immediately. Now that we know they can track it down, why wouldn’t they?
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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