Why Tesla Removed Ultrasonic Sensors and What It Means for Owners

Tesla is removing ultrasonic sensors (USS) from its vehicles, transitioning to Tesla Vision, a camera-based Autopilot system. This change marks a significant shift in Tesla’s approach to vehicle sensing technology, focusing on cameras and neural networks to replicate human driving decisions.

The removal of ultrasonic sensors is part of Tesla’s effort to improve rapidly and achieve performance parity with other available Autopilot features. Tesla’s decision to remove USS is a design and engineering decision, aiming to enhance Autopilot with longer range visibility and object differentiation.

The company’s vision-based occupancy network replaces sensor inputs, enabling future autopilot improvements and incremental improvements to today’s vehicles.

Why did Tesla take out the ultrasonic sensors?

1. The goal is to make manufacturing more efficient.

Ultrasonic sensors made the production process more complicated and expensive. Tesla got rid of them to make assembly easier, cut down on supply chain dependencies, and speed up manufacturing, which are all important parts of Tesla's plan to save costs.

2. Putting money on Vision-Only Autonomy

Tesla thinks that Tesla Vision, which is built on powerful neural networks, will someday be better than systems that use sensors. The system uses only cameras to see, which Tesla says is enough for full self-driving when combined with sophisticated AI.

3. Bringing together the sensor suite

By getting rid of USS, Tesla might use its computing power to improve its camera-based algorithms. This is in line with CEO Elon Musk's long-stated objective of tackling autonomy "with cameras alone."

Impact on Vehicle Models

• Model 3 and Model Y cars built from early October will no longer have ultrasonic sensors, relying on Tesla Vision instead.

• Model S and Model X vehicles will also undergo this change, with the removal of USS from front and rear bumpers.

• The transition may temporarily limit some active safety features and automatic emergency braking on Tesla Vision-only vehicles.

• However, Tesla Vision vehicles equipped with the camera-based Autopilot system maintain or improve active safety ratings and pedestrian automatic emergency braking compared to radar-equipped vehicles.

• The removal of ultrasonic sensors is a cost-cutting measure, but it also enables Tesla to improve its self-driving capability features and achieve more sensors and better technology in the near future.

Effects on the Owner's Experience Right Away

Limitations of Initial Features

After the USS was taken down, owners of newer cars briefly lost access to:

• Park Assist (visual and auditory warnings for things in the way)

• Park by itself

• Call and Smart Call

• In some situations, Full Self-Driving (FSD) features are available.

Transition to Tesla Vision: Over-the-air upgrades have slowly brought back several features, like vision-based parking distance control. However, the system still depends more on improving software than on having extra hardware.

Tesla Vision and Safety Features

Tesla's transition to Tesla Vision has been a complex journey, marked by the goal to achieve performance parity between vehicles equipped with USS and radar and those relying solely on cameras. Initially, this shift meant that many Tesla features, especially those reliant on proximity sensors like enhanced Summon or precise Park Assist, were temporarily limited or unavailable on new builds.

This was particularly impactful for owners who had purchased the Autopilot package, expecting its full suite of capabilities. The availability of these Tesla features can vary based on a vehicle's hardware and the inputs generated by its vision system. It's important to note that Tesla removed radar first in North America before rolling out the change to most regions, including the Middle East, as part of a global standardization order configuration.

While the system excels at highway speeds, its current limitations are most apparent at low speeds and in tight parking scenarios. Despite the initial phase of removing features, Tesla's best strategy has been to relentlessly refine today's software through over-the-air updates, gradually restoring and even enhancing functionality to meet its ambitious vision-based goals.

How Vision-Based Parking Works Now:

Tesla's system solely uses cameras.

• High-resolution cameras to find things in the way

• Neural networks to figure out how far away and deep something is

• Predictive modelling to guess where an object will move

The technology becomes better with each upgrade to a Tesla car; however, it can have problems in some situations:

• Places with little light

• Weather problems like rain, fog, and snow

• Things that hang down (like thin poles and bike racks)

Owner Feedback: The Good and The Bad Pros and Cons

Less work to do on physical sensors to keep them working or replace them.

Fits with Tesla's long-term FSD ambitions

Software upgrades make the system better.

Cons:

It felt like a degradation at first to take it off.

Less accurate detection at close range

Owners were angry over delayed feature rollouts.

Tesla's Plans for the Future: More than sensors

Tesla is still putting a lot of money into vision-based Autopilot updates, which have made things better in:

• Object detection accuracy

• Algorithms for depth perception

• Visualising parking assistance

The business also wants to improve the owner's experience after removal by regularly updating the software, which will restore and eventually improve the capabilities of USS-equipped automobiles.

Should Owners Be Worried?

Tesla Vision is still a work in progress for now. It works well in a lot of situations, although it might not be as accurate as ultrasonic sensors when parking next to something. Tesla's iterative approach, on the other hand, indicates that the system will probably get better over time.

People who own modern cars should:

To get the most recent vision improvements, keep your software up to date.

Be careful when parking in tight spaces until you get used to the system.

Give Tesla feedback to help them improve the technology.

Conclusion: A bold move that divides people

Tesla's choice to get rid of ultrasonic sensors shows that it is committed to a vision-only future. This is a risk that could pay off in the long run as AI and cameras get better. The change has produced some short-term problems, but Tesla's ability to provide efficient production and over-the-air updates shows that camera-based systems will only grow better. Tesla's over-the-air software updates and features achieve performance parity with the former sensor-based system by restoring features like Park Assist and Autopark.

Owners will have to get used to the change for now, but they can expect Tesla to keep making things better as it works on its technologies.