Many have raised their hands to their heads when they learned that the Tesla Model 3 had a camera inside. A system that a priori would serve to control the vehicle when the application for the fleet of autonomous taxis arrived. Before this, the camera will already offer other features that will increase safety and the comfort of the driver.
A hacker has managed to access the code that controls this element. Inside, he has found future functions that give us a clue as to where the shots will go with this camera that has raised so much controversy, mainly among those concerned about privacy.
These are the functions that they have found in the code:
BLINDED
DARK
EYES_CLOSED
EYES_DOWN
EYES_NOMINAL
EYES_UP
HEAD_DOWN
HEAD_TRUNC
LOOKING_LEFT
LOOKING_RIGHT
PHONE_USE
SUNGLASSES_EYES_LIKELY_NOMINAL
SUNGLASSES_LIKELY_EYES_DOWN
At the moment, it is not known what some mean, but it seems clear that the camera will be able to detect if the driver is paying attention to driving. For example, something that will later allow you to eliminate the need to keep your hands on the wheel while using the Autopilot as long as, of course, we are looking at the road.
It will also detect if we are looking at a mobile device, or if we have our eyes down, a sign of distraction or that something has happened to us that prevents us from taking control of the vehicle. Something that will allow the system to react more quickly to an unforeseen event.
What is clear is that in the absence of Tesla revealing this element’s functions, everything indicates that its application will be much more interesting than merely acting as surveillance as we thought so far.