Introduction
In modern society, significant attention has been paid to artificial intelligence and machine learning. Machine learning is the science of developing algorithms and statistical models that computer systems use to perform tasks without explicit instructions, relying instead on patterns and logical inferences. There are four machine learning algorithms: with a teacher, semi-teacher, without a teacher, and with reinforcement (Stilgoe, 2018). Founded in 2003 as Tesla Motors, an electric vehicle and clean energy company based in California, it is currently one of the leading companies that have implemented machine learning in a transportation system. The development of machine learning in the future will help solve the problem of road safety.
Tesla Self-driving Cars
The current artificial intelligence technologies Tesla uses in its cars are based on unsupervised machine learning without a teacher. Tesla claims that Autopilot is a driving assistance system, the purpose of which is to increase the safety and convenience of the driver (Stilgoe, 2018). When used correctly, the system can reduce the driver’s overall effort, which is what neural networks do in a car. There are eight cameras in the vehicle that takes video. Neural networks watch these videos, process them, and make predictions about what they see. The main focus is on road markings, traffic participants, other objects and distances, the roadway, traffic lights, and road signs. Computer vision is just part of a broader set of AI applications that allow the use of Autopilot (Stilgoe, 2018). Autopilot gives users the convenience of self-driving and more safety.
Trials and Tribulations
In 2014, Tesla Motors announced its first version of Autopilot. Model S cars equipped with this system can control lane lanes with autonomous steering, braking, and speed limit adjustment based on signal image recognition (Teece, 2018). In October 2015, Tesla released the Tesla Version 7.0 software, which allows Autopilot to be used as a feature for Model S drivers (Stilgoe, 2018). It combines adaptive cruise control and Autosteer, a lane-centering part designed to keep Tesla cars within a painted lane. The first accident involving a Tesla electric car, in which a person died, occurred in 2016 on a highway in Florida (Siddiqui et al., 2022).
Then a Tesla Model S sedan drove under a semi-trailer truck. Neither the Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the semi-trailer against the background of the brightly lit sky, so the brakes did not activate. In 2018, a Tesla Model X crossover in California went off the highway and crashed into a bump during unmanned mode and adaptive cruise control (Siddiqui et al., 2022). The deceased driver was playing a mobile game on his phone at the time of the accident. In 2021, in Texas, a Tesla Model X without a driver collided with an obstacle and caught fire. As a result of the accident, two male passengers were killed (Siddiqui et al., 2022). This is the first recorded accident involving a car with no person in the driver’s seat. However, in the first quarter of 2021, Tesla registered only one accident for every 4.19 million miles traveled with the Autopilot turned on (Tesla, 2022).
The Success
The fact that Tesla collects all its data from hundreds of thousands of Tesla cars currently on the roads gives them a competitive advantage. Both internal and external sensors monitor how Tesla behaves in various circumstances. “Simulation training” is the name of Tesla’s strategy (Teece, 2018). Millions of real drivers worldwide make decisions, react and move, and their algorithms learn from these actions. All these kilometers lead to incredibly complex autonomous vehicles. In 2021, the Tesla Model 3 became the first electric car whose global sales exceeded the one million mark (Shahan, 2021). Over the decade, Tesla has become a leading company and produced cars with Autopilot. Tesla claims to offer more systems with advanced technology. Artificial intelligence plays an essential role in Tesla and will continue to play.
The Future of Tesla Self-driving Cars
With each new Model of automatic electric vehicle, Tesla manufacturers strive to maximize the following advantages of this type of transport: reducing congestion and traffic jams, improving road safety, reducing prices and increasing accessibility, reducing environmental damage, and improving the personal safety of passengers. According to Renub Research, a research and consulting company, the U.S. autonomous vehicle market will grow to $186 billion by 2030, up from $4 billion in 2021, according to a recently released report (Renub Research, 2022). That is, if, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the human factor accounts for 94% of all road accidents (Broussard, 2018), then perhaps it makes sense to rely more on technology to ensure safety.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that assessing the prospects for using machine learning in electric vehicles will solve many problems for transportation. For example, partially solve the growing problem of the threat to humanity due to global warming if the use of alternative energy sources is developed in parallel (Stilgoe, 2018). Moreover, machine learning could help with transferring to the cars part of the duties that a person performs less efficiently, freeing up time and resources for personal development. For example, machine learning could help reduce the number of accidents and deaths on the roads where people are dying (Teece, 2018).
Ultimately, all this will lead humanity to a new stage of development, where a person can transfer to machine learning the functions that AI performs better and more efficiently. However, it will also allow an understanding of the scale of what machine learning is capable of and, perhaps, will become the next step to an even more significant leap in the development of safe transporting.
References
Broussard, M. (2018). Artificial unintelligence: How computers misunderstand the world. mit Press.
Renub Research. (2022). Autonomous Vehicles Market, Size, Global Forecast 2022-2030, Industry Trends, Growth, Impact of COVID-19, Opportunity Company Analysis. Web.
Shahan Z. (2021) Tesla Model 3 Has Passed 1 Million Sales, Clean Technica. Web.
Siddiqui F., Lerman R., & Merrill J. B. (2022). Teslas running Autopilot involved in 273 crashes reported since last year, The Washington Post. Web.
Stilgoe, J. (2018). Machine learning, social learning and the governance of self-driving cars. Social studies of science, 48(1), 25-56. Web.
Teece, D. J. (2018). Tesla and the reshaping of the auto industry. Management and Organization Review, 14(3), 501-512.
Tesla. (2022) Tesla Vehicle Safety Report. Web.