text: Enlarge Image Steven Ewing/Roadshow 
   
   The turn signal is a marvelous invention. It elegantly communicates your intent to move your 4,000-pound guided missile from one space to another, thus minimizing the chance that the driver of a similar missile will be occupying the same space. It's like magic, but I live in Los Angeles where nobody uses their signals and that's why this new Tesla patent filing is especially exciting. 
   
   Tesla wants its vehicles to signal automatically without the driver needing to go through the agony that is lifting their finger and moving it up or down by several inches. The way that Tesla envisions it working is that the car detects the driver's intent to change lanes or make a turn by using the Autopilot hardware at its disposal, it then works to sense if there are other vehicles nearby and if it detects them, it puts the signal on for the driver. 
   
   Cool, right? 
   
   If it works, it will be brilliant but given the fact that Tesla has remained adamant that it doesn't need driver monitoring systems for Autopilot, it seems questionable that the vehicle would be able to detect a driver's intent to turn based solely on external observation. 
   
   There are plenty of systems out now from other manufacturers that will offer drivers a warning to use their signals after repeated turns or lane changes without them, but because those ultimately rely on the driver moving their finger and physically activating the signal, they're not that helpful. People are just lazy, what can we say? 
   
   Enlarge Image Tesla 
   
   Anyway, I hope this patent actually makes it into a vehicle, since many patents don't. They're most often secured by manufacturers as a means of hampering the competition's ability to develop a technology but in this case, if it works, it could really do some good. 
   
   We've reached out to Tesla for additional information on this patent, but it has not immediately responded to requests for comment. ||||| 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.” 
   
   Here’s a flowchart that explains when the system would activate the turn signal for the driver: 
   
   Tesla has applied for an international patent to use its sensors and onboard processor to make this work. There’s no word on when or even if the technology will make its way into Tesla’s vehicles. 
   
   Here’s the full patent application: 
   
   Electrek’s Take 
   
   It sounds like Tesla might have been working on detecting when it should activate its turn signal when the vehicle is driving automatically and figured out that it could also be useful technology when drivers are manually driving their vehicles. 
   
   Of course, it’s not a reason to not activate your turn signal since any good driver knows that you should activate it before taking any action and not when you are just about to cross a lane line, but it is certainly better than no turn signal at all. 
   
   As for automated turn signals for autonomous driving, Tesla is definitely working on that too since the company said that it plans to release the Autopilot ‘On Ramp/Off Ramp’ feature in the version 9.0 update next month. 
   
   The feature would reportedly enable Autopilot to drive on its own on the highway without inputs from the driver, including lanes changes. 
   
   Currently, Tesla drivers can initiate a lane change on Autopilot but they have to make sure the way is clear and activate the turn signal – only then will Autopilot drive the car in the next lane.
target: – Activating a turn signal takes just a flick of the finger, but that simple move apparently is too much for lots of drivers out there. A new patent filing by Tesla seeks to change that. The company envisions an automated signal, one that senses when a driver is getting ready to turn and activates the blinker on its own, reports CNET. What Electrek finds surprising about the patent application is that it appears to be designed for use with human drivers, not with self-driving cars. The technology stems from Tesla's Autopilot function. (A Tesla in Canada managed to fly, sort of.)