A recently uploaded YouTube video from a Tesla Model 3 owner shows Smart Summon, a feature exclusive to those with Full Self-Driving capabilities, recognizing and accurately maneuvering around a rather beat-up traffic cone in a parking lot.
A Tesla Model 3 owner by the YouTube account name Omar used his vehicle’s Smart Summon feature in order to bring his car to his location. The Model 3 performed in impressive fashion, as it recognized an inconveniently placed traffic cone in the middle of a parking lot with plenty of room to spare. The Model 3 then navigated safely around the cone and headed to its owner.
The video comes just days after Tesla released a software update that improved the performance of Driving Visualization by recognizing traffic cones on a highway, displaying them on the vehicle’s dash screen. Tesla’s newly added ability to recognize traffic cones as an obstacle is likely a result of the company’s Neural Net becoming more capable through real-world data gathered from its fleet of vehicles.
Since Smart Summon’s release in September with the V10 update, the reception to the feature has been polarized, with some being critical of its usefulness and performance. Consumer Reports considered Smart Summon as a science “experiment” that was in need of a lot of work. The non-profit organization used the incidents of Smart Summon being involved in parking lot collisions as proof that “Tesla once again is promising ‘full self-driving’ but delivering far less.” Nevertheless, Smart Summon has continued to become more and more refined with each update from the electric car maker.
During Tesla’s Q3 Earnings Call, CEO Elon Musk stated the software had been utilized over 1,000,000 times, adding the company would use the data collected from these uses in order to release an improved version of Smart Summon in the near future. “We will be releasing an improved version of Smart Summon taking into account all the data from those 1 million Smart Summon attempts. So, this really illustrates the value of having a massive fleet,” Musk said.
Upon Smart Summon’s release in the United States, those who were able to utilize the feature noted its convenience and effectiveness. A clip of a Model 3 pulling up to a grocery store’s front door saving a family from a torrential rainstorm went viral, for example, showing Smart Summon’s effectiveness in situations that it was developed for. Tesla develops many of the features utilized by its vehicles for convenience, and Smart Summon is no exception. The company continues to improve upon its vehicles through software updates, making its cars safer for drivers and pedestrians alike.
Watch YouTube user Omar’s video of Smart Summon avoiding a traffic cone below.
