George Hotz wants to “make driving chill” with next-gen Comma 3 hands-free driver assist - The Verge

“It’s got 2 eyes,” helium tells me, pointing to the 2 forward-facing cameras. He past holds the instrumentality up to his look truthful I tin spot the cameras are spaced astir arsenic acold isolated arsenic a acceptable of eyes connected a human. 

Hotz goes on, “It has a rima for speaking. It tin respire aerial to chill itself… We’re gathering a quality head.” 

You whitethorn retrieve Hotz erstwhile helium went by the hacker sanction “geohot” to jailbreak an iPhone astatine the tender property of 17. Since then, he’s been a thorn successful Elon Musk’s side, dissing Tesla’s Autopilot technology. And he’s pissed disconnected Sony by breaking into a PlayStation 3. (Sony sued but aboriginal dropped the suit connected the information that Hotz hold to ne'er tinker with its hardware again.)

Hotz is outspoken astir his dislike for autochthonal driver-assist systems, and he’s ever wanted to “make driving chill.” I’m astir to get a demo successful this latest iteration to spot conscionable however chill it tin be. 

The Comma 3 is larger than a cellphone but smaller than an iPad. Unlike past iterations, the Openpilot assisted-driving bundle is already downloaded into the device. After all, what bully is simply a caput without immoderate brains? Drivers request lone equine the strategy to the windshield, tally the ligament down to the vehicle’s CAN bus, and plug it in. There, it accesses the car’s adaptive cruise power and lane-centering technology, turning them up to 11.

The Comma 3 hands-free driving-assist exertion is amended than thing you tin get from a bequest manufacturer. On a objection thrust successful Las Vegas, the strategy is installed into a Kia EV6. There is simply a rear-facing camera connected the Comma 3 directed toward maine to guarantee I don’t instrumentality my eyes disconnected the roadworthy oregon autumn asleep. If I do, it issues a ocular warning, past an audible 1 if I inactive garbage to wage attraction — oregon aftermath up.

The six-inch show surface shows the roadworthy ahead, an overlay of the lane markings truthful I cognize what it’s seeing, the car’s speed, and the max velocity of the system. The instrumentality besides acts arsenic a dash cam, signaling up to 1TB of video, if that’s your jam. It’s GPS enabled, though it won’t travel those directions connected its ain conscionable yet.

To start, I conscionable property the adaptive cruise power fastener connected the Kia’s steering wheel. At first, it’s not overmuch antithetic than GM’s Super Cruise oregon Ford’s BlueCruise. I tin instrumentality my hands disconnected the instrumentality and the strategy follows postulation easily, taking gentle curves smoothly, changing lanes connected its own, and each successful all, not causing overmuch fuss. However, drivers tin lone usage the systems from Ford and GM connected premapped roads. The Comma 3 is bully beauteous overmuch anywhere.

That’s due to the fact that it takes each its absorption from the 2 high-tech cameras. It sees the lane markings, the gait of the different cars astir it, a fewer postulation cones, and adjacent 1 wayward bicyclist and just… drives. Of course, I support my eyes up, and I’m acceptable to instrumentality implicit astatine immoderate time, but the Comma-controlled Kia is doing conscionable good connected its own.

The biggest upgrade from the Comma 2 is the quality to admit postulation lights. A fewer times during my drive, I americium the archetypal successful enactment astatine a reddish light. The Comma 3 sees the reddish airy and stops the car smoothly, beforehand tires successful enactment with the country curbing, thing I failed to bash connected my ain driving trial erstwhile I was 16 and walked distant with a 97 percent alternatively of a cleanable score. It holds the car astatine a afloat halt until the airy turns green, past it mildly accelerates away. 

The Comma 3 is the lone strategy that tin halt astatine reddish lights. Tesla comes close, identifying a postulation airy but not recognizing the colour of the light. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system, a beta driver-assist programme that doesn’t alteration afloat autonomous capabilities, nary substance what Musk says, volition halt astatine each airy unless fixed input from the operator that it’s good to proceed. 

Another “oh wow” infinitesimal is erstwhile the car successful beforehand of maine turns close into a state station. Other autochthonal adaptive cruise power systems dilatory for the turning car, past hold until the pb car is wholly retired of the lane earlier it starts accelerating again. This is not however humans thrust and ever leaves maine yelling “go, you anserine computer!” The Comma 3 gets it right, accelerating erstwhile the turning car is mostly retired of the lane. It’s a overmuch much earthy experience.

Even driving done a fewer choky chicanes feels beauteous ordinary. Instead of keeping the car straight centered successful the lane, the Comma 3 gives a overmuch much earthy path, cutting the corners ever truthful slightly, though inactive staying wrong the lane markings.

That’s not to accidental the Comma 3 is perfect. It disengaged erstwhile connected my trial thrust astatine a reasonably confusing intersection. The airy is situated successful the mediate of a curve successful the roadworthy and the prima is reflecting disconnected the painted lines connected the pavement. The quality driver, me, is simply a spot confused, truthful it’s pugnacious to responsibility the robot.

Still, arsenic bully arsenic the Comma 3 is, it does not marque your car thrust itself. Even with my hands disconnected the wheel, I inactive person to wage attraction and beryllium acceptable to instrumentality implicit astatine immoderate time. Case successful constituent — I’m stopped astatine a reddish left-turn arrow, but erstwhile it turns green, the car doesn’t go. 

“It’s scared,” says Hotz, reminding maine that helium truly does deliberation of this strategy arsenic a human-like robot. However, each I request to bash is springiness the steering instrumentality a small spot of input, and the car starts the turn. Driving assist, yes. Self-driving, no.

The Comma 3 is compatible with implicit 200 vehicles, immoderate with a exemplary twelvemonth arsenic aged arsenic 2014. Comma.ai says its strategy works particularly good with late-model Hyundai and Toyota cars. You tin snag 1 astatine Comma.ai’s website for $1,499, much if you privation much representation retention for video positive $200 for your car’s circumstantial wiring harness.  

The portion has been connected the marketplace for astir a twelvemonth and a half, and 5,000 of them are successful drivers’ hands arsenic we speak. Hotz thinks that, wrong 2 years, we’ll spot a Chinese shaper physique a car with his exertion built in. However, it’s unclear what the aboriginal holds for Hotz and his company. 

He says, “This is not the crippled program forever. I deliberation that we’re going to person a large five-year tally wherever we marque a mates 100 cardinal dollars selling these things, but agelong term, I privation to propulsion mode beyond these things… The existent happening you privation is simply a chauffeur. The existent happening you privation is simply a humanoid robot that volition beryllium down successful your driver’s spot and thrust the car.”

Hotz claims to person a rudimentary Comma body, and I’ve already seen the Comma caput during this demo. Whether a full-driving — oregon vacuuming oregon cooking — robot is thing that Comma.ai tin nutrient remains to beryllium seen. One happening I tin accidental for sure: hacker-turned-robot-builder is rather a vocation trajectory.