Tesla has filed for a new patent that describes a technology to automate turn signals.
Surprisingly, it sounds like the technology is actually not for self-driving cars, but for drivers who forget/don’t use turn signals.
It has happened to most of us at one point or another.
A car swerves in your lane without signaling or a car slows down to take an exit without activating their turn signal.
At best, it’s annoying and at worst, it’s dangerous.
Tesla appears to have a solution. By leveraging its Autopilot technology, the automaker thinks it can detect when a driver should activate its turn signal and do it for them if they forget it.
The company describes the system in the patent application:
“An embodiment includes a method of automated turn signaling, the method comprising: determining, via the processor, that a vehicle will cross a lane line or turn based on a measured steering angle value that is within a value range stored in a memory, wherein the car includes the processor, the memory, and the turn signal source; and activating, via the processor, the turn signal source based on the determination that a vehicle will cross a lane line or turn.”
Source: https://electrek.co/2018/08/30/tesla-patents-technology-automate-turn-signals/
