Imagine this. You just parked your car at a car park. But upon stepping out of the car, the security walks up to you and asks you to re-park. You smile to yourself pick up your phone, navigate your car to find a new position and park all on its own. Seems like a scene from a sci-fi movie right?
Well, your imagination is just 6 weeks away from reality as popular automobile manufacturer, Tesla, has announced an update its self-parking Summon upgrade which will be ready in 6 weeks. This was made known on Twitter by, CEO Elon Musk.
Tesla advanced Summon ready in ~6 weeks! Just an over-the-air software upgrade, so will work on all cars made in past 2 years (Autopilot hardware V2+).
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2018
According to the series of tweets, the upgraded feature would use the 8 cameras around the car to navigate more complex areas.
This will in turn allow vehicles to drive around parking lots, find empty spots, read parking signs to confirm that the space is valid and park.
For those unfamiliar, this uses Tesla Autopark/Summon. Slightly smarter version hopefully ready soon. By next year, a Tesla should be able to drive around a parking lot, find an empty spot, read signs to confirm it’s valid & park.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2018
This is an upgrade to the existing version of the Summon feature (which is available only on available on Model 3, S and X cars). The feature enables owners to remotely move their cars a few feet in parking areas.
“Car will drive to your phone location & follow you like a pet if you hold down summon button on Tesla app,” Elon wrote in one of the tweets.
Much detail has not been made available about the new feature. One thing is obvious though; the upgrade would allow Tesla owners to operate their vehicles like a big remote-controlled car. But they still have to be within viewing distance to be able to stop the vehicle if they.
I was not sure when I would use this feature… till today. @elonmusk @tesla pic.twitter.com/bC6rFt2SuW
— DShawn 🛂 (@rarelyserious) October 31, 2018
The feature is expected to be compatible with all Tesla models made in the past two years, and will come via an over-the-air software update.
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