Along for the ride

The future of driving may have arrived last month in the form of a wirelessly downloadable software update to the new Tesla Model S.

Tesla owners who install the $2,500 update, called Autopilot, will be able to drive hands-free and pedal-free under certain conditions. They can even prompt the car to change lanes autonomously by hitting the turn signal. The system’s not perfect—it needs clear lane markings and functions best in fair weather—but a New York Times tester concluded, “It works remarkably well under normal circumstances.”

The Tesla Model S with Autopilot is the first production vehicle available to consumers with advanced self-driving capabilities at highway speeds. Volvo and Mercedes-Benz recently introduced semiautonomous driving features, but they are limited to lower speeds or require the driver to maintain contact with the steering wheel.

And in case you’re wondering, this driverless technology is legal in the United States. The Times reported only New York has a law prohibiting hands-free driving.

The technology doesn’t mean a Model S driver can relax and let the car do all the work. When lane markings disappear or become faded, the driver must take over. In addition, construction zones and merging traffic are situations where it’s best for the driver to take the wheel.

Tesla officials have stressed that ideally drivers should keep at least one hand on the wheel at all times. Tesla also announced that because the company considers Autopilot still in its “beta” version, drivers would have to assume liability for any accident occurring while hands-free.

If the car’s self-driving system senses bad weather or deteriorating road conditions, it issues visible and audible alerts indicating the driver needs to take the wheel. If the driver ignores the alerts, Autopilot will disengage and bring the vehicle to a stop.

Initial reports suggest Tesla’s new Autopilot feature really does inspire confidence that the car can handle itself in highway conditions.

“The feeling of gliding autonomously through highway traffic initially feels a bit unnerving, especially on the Washington area’s notoriously congested roads,” wrote Times reporter Aaron Kessler, who drove an Autopilot-equipped Model S. “But on a recent afternoon while testing Tesla’s autopilot, that feeling faded as I began to trust the car to keep its lane along the twisty highway that hugs the Potomac River in Virginia.”

Living color

How can crayons and coloring books hold a child’s attention in a digital age when real-world activities like coloring may seem boring? Scientists at Disney Research in Zurich might have found the answer: an augmented reality coloring book app.

As a child colors in a cartoon character on a page, the app uses the camera on a smartphone or tablet to scan the emerging drawing in real time, creating a 3-D animated rendition of the drawing. The app’s algorithm ensures that parts of the 3-D model not represented in the 2-D drawing are automatically filled in with similar colors and patterns.

Disney’s augmented reality coloring book is still in a research stage right now. But some observers of entertainment technology are already imagining the possibilities: Tech website Fast Company proposed a coloring book app paired with a Pixar movie that would let kids color the characters any way they wish—and then insert their new designs directly into the film. —M.C.