Back in 2017, Tesla introduced an automated emergency braking (AEB) system for all its vehicles that’s powered by its Autopilot technology, which is available even for vehicles whose owners haven’t purchased the actual Autopilot cruise-assist upgrade. Now, the automaker is showing off some of the more advanced features coming in its next-generation AEB update.
These include automatically engaging the brakes on a vehicle when the Autopilot-based system detects a pedestrian crossing the car’s path, and doing the same for a cyclist. Below, you can see those features reportedly working in real-life situations, according to Tesla’s official Twitter account.
These kinds of features aren’t new, and in fact have been present in some form since inclusion in a version of Volvo’s automated braking system in 2009. Safety organizations and regulators like the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have been testing and advocating for these systems for years, as well.
Not all AEB and driver-assist features are built equally, however, and in theory the versions of these systems based on vehicles with more advanced sensors and on-board computation should be more effective at actually avoiding or preventing collisions in practice. Tesla has made bold claims about the capabilities of its own system, especially when paired with its in-house AI processor technology, which will serve as the “brain” on its future autonomous driving technology in Tesla cars.
Tesla demonstrated these features as part of a thread celebrating the Tesla Model 3 earning the highest score awarded to date by the Euro NCAP for Safety Assist features as measured under their 2018/2019 assessment protocols.