The accident increased scrutiny of automated driving technology.
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Tesla system performance data downloaded from the auto indicated that vehicle speed just prior to impact was 74 miles per hour. To make this happen, the companies will use the BMW iNEXT model. It is unclear when the contract ends, but a new Mobileye system-called the EyeQ4-comes out in 2018. Following the announcement, Mobileye’s stock is now down by about eight percent, bringing the price to $45.33. The company said Tuesday it had $26.9 million in net income in the second quarter on revenue of $83.5 million-a 32% net margin. While the Jerusalem-based company did not directly state that ending up corporation with Tesla is because of the accident.
Tesla faces a separate investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) into whether the system poses an unreasonable risk to driver safety.
In a December blog post, Tesla said Mobileye’s EyeQ3 chip, which is used in the Model S and Model X, “is the best in the world at what it does, and that is why we use it”. According to CNET, Mobileye’s comments were pretty critical.
Before Autopilot can be activated, drivers are alerted they need to be in control of the vehicle at all times.
Mobileye doesn’t believe the traditional relationship between a supplier and automaker is ideal in the era of autonomous vehicles. The Jerusalem-based company provides core tech for Tesla’s Autopilot system, which lets vehicles drive themselves in limited conditions. The tractor-trailer, which was turning left in front of Brown, sustained only minor damage, according to the NTSB. The system may be overridden by the driver.
“Mobileye’s work with Tesla will not extend beyond the EyeQ3”, the company said in a prepared statement. “It’s not enough to tell the driver to be alert but to tell the driver why”, he said.
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What we know is that the vehicle was on a divided highway with Autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S. Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied. Mobileye said the system wasn’t created to handle such turns and a new system, the EyeQ4, would be able to detect and respond to such a maneuver.
