Tesla unveils its new crash safety tech based on collecting real-world data

Tesla unveils its latest crash safety technology based on real-world data collection using its large fleet of vehicles equipped with sensors for its self-driving technology.

It appears that Tesla is releasing new videos about some of its latest technology differentiators.

Last month, the automaker released a video on its “Tesla Glass.”

Now the automaker released a look into its “Tesla Crash Lab” as its engineers were testing a new crash safety technology:

By collecting data from the millions of vehicles in our fleet and replicating real-world crash scenarios, we’re able to engineer some of the safest vehicles on the road.

In 2019, Tesla gave us a first look at its new crash lab in Fremont, California, but this time, the automaker focused on a new technology that they are working on:

A Tesla safety engineer going by “Dan” in the video explained the problem with existing car safety design:

Previously, the best way to design a car was through industry standard crash testing. And those crash tests are like a few grains of sand. Those grains of sand are meant to represent the beach, but in reality, the beach is infinitely complex. Every crash is different.

He then described with Tesla is doing different now:

With emerging technologies, there are opportunities. Now we can look at the real world and design for that.

In the video, Tesla safety engineers explained that they gathered real-world crash data from the fleet using the sensors for self-driving on them.

Tesla has over 1 million vehicles on the road producing a lot of data. and inevitably, some of those vehicles are involved in crashes.

With that data, Tesla claims that it’s able to detect within 10 milliseconds what type of crash it is and have the airbag react accordingly.

When the crash occurs, Tesla is able to know the exact seat position and steering wheel position, however the driver adjusted them, and deploy the airbags accordingly for optimal safety.

After a lot of simulation, they tested it the first time with a pickup truck crashing into a Model Y.

The automaker described it as “a world first” and said that the test was a “homerun” based on the crash dummies.