autopilot

While pilots often use an autopilot at high altitudes, they typically switch to manual control when entering crowded lower airspaces. However, what if the plane has no pilot? Well, a new AI autopilot system for busy airspaces may be the answer.

Tesla released its FSD beta 9.0 software on Saturday night, another leap forward ahead of the pack with some impressive new abilities. But it's going to need to get a lot more boring and mundane before this tech really starts changing the world.

Autopilot has been around longer than you think – the first daredevil public demos happened back in 1914. But today's airliners still need pilots, and Airbus has only recently completed testing on the first autonomous taxi, takeoff and landing system.

An important step towards autonomous aviation was taken today, as Cirrus Aviation announced "Safe Return" functionality for its G2 Vision jet, which will find the nearest airstrip, alert authorities and land itself in an emergency.

Commercial aircraft are already guided in for automatic landings at large airports, as their autopilot follows radio signals transmitted by ground-based antennas. Such auto-landings currently aren't possible at small airports, although that could be about to change, thanks to a new system.

​Tesla has rolled out another incremental update for its Autopilot software, upping the level of autonomy for its vehicles when roaming the highways.

Tesla has edged a little bit closer to its vision of a fully autonomous driving future, introducing a new feature for the latest version of its Autopilot software designed to handle the bulk of highway travel.

The US National Transportation Safety Board has completed its investigation into a fatal crash involving a semi-truck and a Tesla Model S utilizing automated driving systems. The reasons for the crash are complex, but the report highlights issues with self-driving vehicles that should be of concern.

A cloud has hung over Tesla Autopilot since Joshua Brown was killed while using the system last year. An investigation by the National Transport Safety Board has shed new light on how Autopilot functioned leading up to the crash.

Tesla isn't the only one working to develop advanced semi-autonomous driver aids, but it takes a particularly active approach to keeping its system updated. The latest over-the-air update for Autopilot brings perpendicular and parallel parking for cars equipped with Enhanced Autopilot hardware.

Along with a big update to Autopilot, Tesla's latest software iteration overhauls the layout of the central touchscreen and adds a clever Cabin Overheat Protection system designed to keep pets and children left in cars cool.

Tesla has given Autopilot a significant upgrade. Thanks to more advanced signal processing, information from the inbuilt radar sensors can now be used to form a more accurate picture of a car's surroundings.