Comma One Founder Makes Semi-Autonomous System Free to All

Comma.ai Founder George Hotz announced on the company's website he open-sourced semi-autonomous system software code and their robotics research platform for their long-gestating driver-assistance system. By doing so, he can’t make a profit off the program, but its "shareware" status makes it immune to involvement from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Anyone looking to get in on the ground floor of the next stage of the code can get it for free through GitHub.

The program has been used on a 2016 Honda Civic Touring Edition and a 2016 Acura ILX equipped with AcuraWatch Plus, and the group believes it should be easy to adapt the system to the Honda CR-V Touring.

The move comes a little more than a month after Hotz mothballed the system in response to a query letter from NHTSA about the system. NHTSA asked several difficult questions about the equipment focusing on how it is installed, how it works, what vehicles it is compatible with, and much more. Failure to provide all of the answers to their query by November 10 would have subjected Hotz to a fine of $21,000 a day.

Comma.ai also received a cease-and-desist letter from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles, but Hotz argued that his technology did not fall under the state’s permitting requirements because it did not enable the cars to become fully autonomous.