30/10/2016

RegulatorsQuestionPlugandPlayCarAutonomy

Robotics

Regulators Question Plug-and-Play Car

Autonomy
Pressure from the government has forced Comma.ai to cancel its $999 selfdriving kit.
by Jamie Condlie

October 28, 2016

Comma.ai, the startup that hoped to build a bolt-on autonomy system for

carsbytheendofthisyear,hascanceleditsrstproductunderpressure

fromtheNationalHighwayTracSafetyAdministration.

GeorgeHotz,thefounderofthecompany,haspublishedaletterhe

receivedfromtheregulators.Intheletter,theNHTSAschiefcounsel,

PaulHemmerbaugh,demandedthatComma.aiprovideevidencethatits
devicecomplieswithsafetyregulationsagainstwhichallmotorvehicle
equipmentisjudged.Weareconcernedthatyourproductwouldput
thesafetyofyourcustomersandotherroadusersatrisk,heexplains.
The$999deviceinquestion,theCommaOne,isunlikemany
autonomousdrivingsystemsinthatitsaretrotdevice.Thesmallbox
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containsonlycamerasensors;formoredataaboutwhatshappeningon
theroad,ithijackstheradarsystemscurrentlyttedtohigherendcars
toaidtheirintelligentcruisecontrolsystems.Hotzhassaidthatthe
systemisaboutonparwithTeslaAutopilotintermsoffunctionality.

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RegulatorsQuestionPlugandPlayCarAutonomy

Comma.ai founder George Hotz shows o his autonomous car kit at a TechCrunch event earlier this year.

Perhapsunsurprisingly,though,theNHTSAisworriedabouthowthe
deviceworkswiththecar.Installationofyourproductcouldadversely
aecttheperformanceofthevehiclessafetysystems,orotherwise
renderthevehicleunsafe,writesHemmerbaugh.
TheNHTSAalsoquestionsComma.aisclaims,madeonitsblog,that
thesystemdoesnotremoveanyofthedriver'sresponsibilitiesfromthe
taskofdriving.Hemmerbaughpointsoutthatthereisahigh
likelihoodthatdriverswouldusethedeviceinamannerthatexceeds
itsintendedpurpose.Heislikelyreferringtoafatalcrashearlierthis
yearthatinvolvedaTesladriverusingitsautonomousAutopilotfeature.
TeslaitselfhasupgradeditsAutopilotsystemtoautomaticallydisengage
whendriversremovetheirhandsfromthesteeringwheelfortoolong.
Otherautomakersarealsobakinginsimilarfunctionality.
RatherthanmeetingtheregulatorydemandoftheNHTSA,however,
Hotzhaspubliclystatedthatthedeviceiscanceled,andComma.aiwill
insteadexploreotherproductsandmarkets.Headdedthathewould
muchratherspend[his]lifebuildingamazingtechthandealingwith
regulatorsandlawyers.Itisn'tworthit.

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Hotzhaspreviouslyacknowledgedthelimitationsofthedevice,
pointingoutthatitwasverymuchdesignedtobeadriverassistance
systemratherthanafullonautonomypackage.Buthehadalso
assertedwrongly,asitturnsoutthatitshouldbelegalbecauseit
simplyactedasanupgradetosimilartechnologyalreadyfoundinthe
carsitwouldbemadeavailablefor.
Othercompanieswillbewatchingthenewswithinterest,becauseits
notjustComma.aithatsworkingonaddonselfdrivingkits.Thelikes
ofDelphi,MobilEye,andOxboticaarealsodevelopingsystemsthat
couldberetrottedtovehiclestomakethemautonomous.TheNHTSA
willnodoubtbekeepingacloseeyeontheirdevices,toothoughthey
doallhavethebenetofalreadyworkingcloselywiththecarindustry,a
luxuryComma.aidoesnotpossess.
(Readmore:Scribd,ThisBoxCouldMakeYourCarAutonomousfor
Just$1,000,PlugandPlayAutonomyCouldSoonTurnYourCarInto
aSelfDrivingRobot,TeslaCrashWillShapetheFutureofAutomated
Cars)

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