The system Autopilot Tesla now uses a vision-radar (video capture). – TESLA
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move along, there’s nothing to see. On Thursday, us authorities have classified the investigation on the system of assistance in the conduct of Tesla, Autopilot, having detected a defect in the software a result of a fatal accident.

The federal agency of road safety (NHTSA) had opened in late June of this investigation after the death, on 7 may, on a road in Florida a motorist in a collision with a truck while the system is Autopilot, which provides functions to semi-autonomous all cars Tesla recent, was activated.

A driver visibly distracted

“The investigation found that there was no default in the software. There is no evidence that there is a default”, said on Thursday Bryan Thomas, a spokesman for NHTSA during a conference call with journalists. The regulator u.s. insists on the fact that its investigators “have not identified a default neither on the design nor in the performance of systems of emergency braking of the Autopilot or of incidents in which these systems have not worked properly”. For Thomas, the fatal accident of may 7, was related to a “number of human factors”. The driver of the Tesla, which is supposed to keep his hands on the steering wheel, had 7 seconds to see the semi-trailer across the road. The authorities did not specify the reason for his distraction, but a witness had at the time said the agency AP that the driver was watching a DVD of Harry Potter at the time of the accident.

40% of collisions thanks to Autopilot

Elon Musk, the boss and founder of Tesla, has immediately welcomed the news, speaking of a report “very positive”. “The report stresses that “the data show that accidents involving Tesla vehicles have declined by nearly 40% after the installation of the system of self-steering””, boasted Musk on Twitter.

Tesla was conducted in September to an improvement of Autopilot, based more on the use of radar and be capable of running through the rain, fog and snow. At the time of the crash, the system was based primarily on the vision of an on-board camera can be easy to miss obstacles in lighting conditions are extreme.

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