Tesla
has received criticism in the past for testing its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD)
systems—which are in the Beta development stage—out on real roads with real drivers. Naturally, the ambitious electric vehicle company has a high-tech solution: testing it out in a video game engine. To orchestrate the test, Tesla is recreating the city of San Francisco within Unreal Engine, the same video game engine used to host online games like Fortnite. To learn more about the new simulation program, read on with the car ownership experts at Jerry.
Tesla’s new Unreal Engine simulation
According to Elektrek
, the Unreal Engine simulation is just an expansion of Tesla’s typical software development protocol. Before the Autopilot and FSD programs ever make their way to customers, they are always first tested internally by Tesla employees on closed courses, and before that, they’re run through a simulation.
Unreal Engine is a popular video game engine that is used to power games like Fortnite, Valorant, and Robo Recall, and now it’s being used to test Tesla vehicles.
The goal of the project is to make the simulation as realistic as possible. CEO Elon Musk has even considered eventually making it public, or creating video games based on it.
In order to develop the simulation, Tesla has hired developers and environmental artists that worked on popular video games, including those who have worked on the Call of Duty franchise, but there are even more roles open now.
Tesla is no stranger to the world of video games
If the simulation does eventually become public, it won’t be surprising to anyone who has been following along with Tesla’s increasing interest in video game technology.
The company has been integrating video games into its vehicles for years now and has even discussed potentially integrating the entire Steam video game library in its vehicles.
The company’s in-car gameplay features, however, have been subject to a lot of scrutiny. Earlier this year, one Portland, Oregon owner discovered that a glitch in the system allowed him to operate the game system
while the car was moving, leading to an investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Tesla’s current FSD Beta program is available to about 160,000 drivers, but in spite of the somewhat misleading moniker, the program is only Level 2 automation and requires the driver to perform certain functions and be prepared to step in at any moment.
Level 2, or Partial Driving Automation, means that the vehicle can control steering, accelerating, and decelerating, but the driver is on the hook for everything else.
Theoretically, the more advanced Telsa’s self-driving software becomes, the more passengers should be able to engage with features like in-car gaming but is that really a reasonable or safe goal to be working towards? Many safety experts think not.
MORE: Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ Feature Will Now Cost Drivers an Extra $15,000. Is It Even Worth It?
The benefits of safe driving
Automated safety features like forward collision warnings and automatic emergency braking are great tools to help keep everyone on the road safe, but the best and most reliable way to practice road safety is through attentive and careful driving.
Having a clean driving record
can have perks for you as well, and potentially lower your insurance rates. Even if your driving record has a few flaws, the car insurance comparison shopping and broker app Jerry can help you find the lowest rates.
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