After multiple deaths and injuries, NHTSA is investigating comma.ai
Feds know of 5 crashes where cars using comma.ai devices hit slow or stopped vehicles.
Feds know of 5 crashes where cars using comma.ai devices hit slow or stopped vehicles.
The short version
- Aftermarket devices that can boost or augment a vehicle’s native advanced driver assistance systems are the target of a new federal investigation this week.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation says it knows of five crashes in which drivers using devices from comma.ai crashed into stopped or slow-moving cars.
- Instead, Comma decided to post its openpilot software, as well as its plans for hardware, to GitHub, allowing anyone to make the devices themselves .
What happened
At first, the Comma Neo and OpenPilot supported a single Acura and single Honda model, but by 2020, the company’s software and $999 device were rated more highly by Consumer Reports than any OEM system. Now, Comma says the Comma Four can add lane centering, adaptive cruise, and a cloud-based dash cam to more than 325 models of car across 27 different brands.
Why it matters
More than 30,000 drivers are using openpilot, with more than 402 million miles (650 million km) driven.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.