Mobileye will keep providing technical support of its EyeQ3 processor for Tesla Motors, but will stop developing the Autopilot system and its related products.
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A Tesla vehicle involved in a deadly crash in Florida that’s under investigation because the driver was using automated technology was speeding before striking a truck.
This is one of two federal investigations into the Tesla autopilot system following the high-profile crash on May 7 near Williston, Florida.
According to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the driver killed in a May 7 crash while using Tesla’s Autopilot feature was speeding.
Joshua Brown’s Model S after the crash. The NTSB has not yet determined the probable cause for the crash.
The vehicle is equipped with automatic emergency braking. “NTSB investigators will continue to collect and analyze these data, and use it along with other information collected during the investigation in evaluating the crash events”. Specifically, the company’s EyeQ System-on-Chip solution was used to power features such as traffic sign recognition, late departure detection and more.
The decision to end its contract with Tesla before the automaker launches a fully autonomous vehicle was motivated in part to protect Mobileye’s reputation, Shashua suggested.
Tesla’s automation didn’t notice the white side of the tractor trailer as it turned in front of the auto against a brightly lit sky so the brake wasn’t applied, according to the carmaker.
It is likely that Tesla Motors will begin to create the technology that it sourced from Mobileye in-house, especially with the hiring of former AMD chip engineer Jim Keller to be the vice president of Autopilot. Tesla and NHTSA have previously said the Autopilot was unable to distinguish the white side of the truck from the brightly lit sky and there was no attempt to brake by either the self-driving system or Brown.
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Comma.ai is actually the firm that was challenged by Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build better software than Mobileye. Mobileye has said the system was not created to deal with vehicles crossing laterally in front of it, like the truck that Joshua Brown’s Tesla slammed into while using Autopilot on May 7th.
