Carrying out constant software updates for its cars, the Tesla brand is proposing the incorporation of new programs aimed at giving greater peace of mind to its owners. One of them is Sentry Mode, which is mainly used to scare thieves away from potential break-ins. The interesting thing about this one is how he does it.
Tesla exposes the thief
Park the car on the street, arrive, and get the unpleasant surprise that your bodywork has been scratched. Who has not this happened? Unfortunately, it is a more common practice than it should be, although luckily there are already systems that expose the offender . That is precisely what we have with the brand owned by Elon Musk, Tesla.
Because, from its beginnings, beyond avant- garde technologies for the electric car, the firm has always been clear that what it seeks, above all, is that its cars are completely safe. And for this reason, the so-called Sentry Mode , Sentinel Mode, was incorporated a few years ago.
With it, it is intended that those who intend to steal or damage their cars in any way think twice because the car has a video surveillance system that records everything that happens around it. It does so by equipping cars with Autopilot version 2.0 or higher.
How does it act against robbery attempts?
Because, according to statistics, in years like 2021 there was a theft or attempted theft of a vehicle every 30.8 seconds in the United States. And that’s where, to further enhance vehicle safety , Tesla has this protection that makes great sense for everyone.
In this sense, the inclusion of its autonomous driving systems requires many different types of devices, to the point that the most important sensor used by the autopilot is the integrated camera system .
Tesla already uses the data captured by these cameras for more than just feeding the rest of the car’s sensors, some of which it already does, too, using the camera system to monitor the car. It works like this with essential elements so that Autopilot can map the environment and take control of the car when the driver so decides.
Using Tesla cameras and sensors, Sentinel Mode detects, records, and notifies owners of potential threats when the car is parked.
Music, at full volume to alert of serious threats
Given this, the external cameras of the car to detect potential threats. If the vehicle detects a slight threat, such as someone leaning over the car, Tesla activates the ‘alert’ state and displays a message on the touchscreen that its cameras are recording.
On the other hand, if the car detects that the threat is more serious , such as a broken window, Sentinel Mode switches to ‘alarm’ status, which activates the car alarm , increases the brightness of the central screen and plays music when maximum volume from the vehicle’s audio system.
The objective is to surprise the thieves to dissuade them from continuing with their purpose. At the same time, the drivers of the car will receive a notification of what is happening through our mobile phone.
Another feature is that, if the owner has inserted a formatted USB device before activating Sentinel mode, they will have the possibility to download a 10-minute video with the images recorded by the cameras of what happened. This material will serve to clarify the incident and perhaps be able to identify the criminals.
