# Autopilot saved our lives



## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

*Basic Autopilot*

In a rush, I left my electric razor and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine at home. In a world of disposables, the razor was easily fixed (Barbasol still tastes crappy) but a CPAP is not an off the shelf item. Used to treat sleep apnea, it ensures my sleep is not interrupted by short airway blockages. Then my wife spent seven days in the hospital.

Easily confused by strangers, my presence anchors her in a safer reality to avoid more aggressive restraints. But her 24 hour care requires my sleeping in that abomination called a 'reclining chair.' It has two positions, seat parallel to floor or raised ~20 degree back. There is an extendable leg lift but the 90 degree, seat-to-back angle is fixed. Reclined, it is like sleeping in a bucket with the legs and knees above the rim. To mitigate, I filled the seat-to-back hole with spare sheets, blankets, and a pillow filler so I can 'cat nap' and be available to help the staff. My wife was discharged after IV antibiotics reduced the hand swelling and pain. So I took a nap at my Mom's home, packed the car, and we were off to home in Huntsville.

'Micro sleep' is a thing that my narcoleptic wife (and late aunt) suffered. Involuntarily, the victim goes to sleep for 2-5 seconds with no warning and the most effective treatment is uninterrupted sleep. After seven days cat napping in a bucket chair and one post release nap, I was primed.

Tesla's Autopilot has dynamic cruise control and automatic emergency braking to avoid running into things. The optical and ultrasonic sensor based, lane steering keeps the car from darting into a ditch or into on-coming traffic. It was on the leg to Decatur there were at least five micro sleep events that I was aware of and Autopilot kept us safe. I stopped in Decatur for a pee, stretch, and coffee break before driving the last 20 miles home.

Micro sleeps are involuntary and detected only when the individual recognizes having woken up. When driving, it becomes either a head-on collision or single car accident. Autopilot gives them a chance to survive.

Home again, I have my CPAP sleeping aid, my wife has her dogs, and me in familiar settings. Life has returned to what passes for normal ... but it is life thanks to Tesla's Autopilot.

Bob Wilson


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## SAronian (Apr 4, 2019)

You’re helping answer the question, is autonomous driving (any level) safer than a human? In this case it’s like having a co-pilot, which is a positive.


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## jdcollins5 (Oct 31, 2018)

Glad you made it home safely Bob. I know there are times on long trips that I cannot remember passing certain landmarks along the way. Good to know AP was watching out for me.


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## mswlogo (Oct 8, 2018)

What if you “microsleep” right before the divided highway concrete barrier?


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## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

mswlogo said:


> What if you "microsleep" right before the divided highway concrete barrier?


The current autopilot appears to handle the problem well:

Following a lead vehicle - Autopilot appears to follow that car without a problem. The key is following a leader.
One lane to two - there is a brief, 100-300 ms, interval when the car is indecisive BUT it chooses a lane if you let the car handle it. There is no evidence of directly driving into a barrier with the current 8.5 version.
Curved cross-street intersection - found most commonly in Mississippi, the car will 'split the difference' which leads briefly steers for the opposite side ditch. I've overridden Autopilot and they were non-events.
Merge lanes from interchanges often convert a dashed line on the right into a sudden, extra wide, double lane. Autopilot tries to 'split the difference' which results in a gentle swerve towards the merge lane and then back. For me, a gentle rocking motion once you understand what is going on.

Bob Wilson


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## mswlogo (Oct 8, 2018)

bwilson4web said:


> The current autopilot appears to handle the problem well:
> 
> Following a lead vehicle - Autopilot appears to follow that car without a problem. The key is following a leader.
> One lane to two - there is a brief, 100-300 ms, interval when the car is indecisive BUT it chooses a lane if you let the car handle it. There is no evidence of directly driving into a barrier with the current 8.5 version.
> ...


Guess your Autopilot is better than mine. I'm on 12.1.2. There are many cases posted that AutoPilot will stumble. It does good but it is not FSD. What you describe requires FSD and it's only a matter of time that it will stumble while you're micro-sleeping.

I Don't know the exact version below but this is a recent video and shows a common well known issue.

When lanes widen and it finds itself straddling a split it can't make up its mind. Or It abruptly changes its mind.






I don't think we'll see a leap of improvement until we have HW3 and the code optimized for it.


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## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

Part of the problem is patience to see what the car decides to do. If you manually override, you’ll never see what it does.

Yes I would like to see the hardware assisted version, gen-2, not gen-1

Bob Wilson


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## SR22pilot (Aug 16, 2018)

If you read what the OP wrote you will see that the complaints about AP are talking about different things. The odds that a micro sleep event occurs right when AP goes wonky is rare since micro sleep is short. What you have with the current state of AP is two systems watching over each other. The human has to be vigilant and catch those cases where AP goes wonky. I have grabbed control several times. However, those few seconds where there is a micro sleep event (OP) or where the driver's attention gets distracted, the car on AP has your back. I am still way better than AP. However, in the right setting (highway cruising), AP and I make a heck of a pair.


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## lance.bailey (Apr 1, 2019)

Awesome story Bob - AP is such a Godsend for you. I dated a lady years ago who suffered from Narcolepsy and feared losing her car as she lived in the country and felt she could not continue to do so without being a driver. AP is going to extend driving capabilities for a lot of people.


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## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

Never let perfect become the enemy of good enough.

Bob Wilson


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

lance.bailey said:


> Awesome story Bob - AP is such a Godsend for you. I dated a lady years ago who suffered from Narcolepsy and feared losing her car as she lived in the country and felt she could not continue to do so without being a driver. AP is going to extend driving capabilities for a lot of people.


Yes, AP will be a real game-changer. While it's currently good enough right now to increase the safety of people who tend to micro-sleep, in reality, people with narcolepsy shouldn't be behind the wheel until we have full autonomy.


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## lance.bailey (Apr 1, 2019)

yes, "going to" - not there yet.


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## bwilson4web (Mar 4, 2019)

lance.bailey said:


> yes, "going to" - not there yet.


Evidence? Have you tested it?

I have personal experience and this evidence: https://www.tesla.com/VehicleSafetyReport

Credible people do not knock empirical evidence without some of their own.

We have seen two surveys about AutoPilot and ~20% are terrified of this new technology. It is their choice. My testing has shown it is remarkably efficient with easily avoided, rare bugs.

Bob Wilson


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

bwilson4web said:


> Evidence? Have you tested it?


I think you misunderstand Lance's point.

He's not arguing that Autopilot doesn't improve safety. He's saying that Autopilot is not yet good enough for somebody who suffers from involuntary "micro sleeps" to rely upon to keep them and others safe. Someday soon, FSD will be available and may at that point be usable by such individuals. But not today.


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## lance.bailey (Apr 1, 2019)

exactly @garsh - one day AP and the work Tesla is doing now will lead us to a point where people who today cannot or should not be driving will be able to have their car do the driving for them or take over when they cannot drive at a certain point. Accidents from a medical emergency (heart attack), from DUI, from drifting off asleep (medical condition or otherwise) are one day going to be a thing of the past.

Going to be - but not there yet.

@bwilson4web, I understand that this may be a personal or even a hot topic for you, but please consider that you have misread a post before implying that a fellow forum member is less than credible.

cheers.


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