Startup Gives Away Semiautonomous-Driving Software
November 30 2016 - 7:20PM
Dow Jones News
George Hotz, a 27-year-old coder who believes auto makers have
been too slow to roll out self-driving vehicles, on Wednesday
started giving away software to enable certain cars with
semiautonomous driving features, a gambit to circumvent regulatory
authority over self-driving cars.
Mr. Hotz's company, Comma.ai, had initially planned to sell an
aftermarket kit consisting of the software as well as hardware that
would provide capabilities similar to those of Tesla Motors Inc.'s
Autopilot system, for about $1,000 by year's end. But the company
scrapped the plan after the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration sent a letter in October raising questions about the
effort.
The software released Wednesday is designed to convert a 2016
Honda Civic Touring and 2016 Acura ILX with AcuraWatch Plus
package. In addition, the firm provided step-by-step instructions
to build the accompanying hardware, which uses a OnePlus 3
smartphone.
The effort is aimed at self-driving car hobbyists and
researchers, Mr. Hotz said, and he assumes drivers will use the
technology cautiously. "I'm very interested in safety," he told
reporters Wednesday.
In giving away the software and plans for the hardware, he said,
he had transformed the project into "an open-source alternative to
[Tesla's] Autopilot," adding that the package provides almost all
of the same functionality available in Autopilot 7."
Mr. Hotz said the NHTSA's regulatory reach didn't extend to free
software.
"NHTSA only regulates physical products that are sold," he said.
"They don't regulate open-source software, which is a whole lot
more like speech."
A spokesman for NHTSA declined to comment.
The Obama administration and state regulators have been
preparing for self-driving vehicles even as auto makers and tech
companies race to refine the technology. Google parent Alphabet
Inc.'s self-driving program has accumulated more than 2 million
miles of testing on public roadways, and General Motors Co.
acquired Cruise Automation earlier this year to jump-start its own
effort. Several companies are working to bring out autonomous cars
by 2021, including Ford Motor Co.
Tesla in October began shipping cars including hardware that the
company said could be enabled to make the vehicles fully
self-driving once the necessary software is validated and approved
by regulators. The Silicon Valley firm's Autopilot system is the
most advanced semiautonomous technology generally available,
capable of using cameras and sensors to navigate and control the
vehicle in certain circumstances.
At a press conference held inside Mr. Hotz's dark San Francisco
garage, during which he handed out black stocking caps and quoted
rappers, he bemoaned his treatment by NHTSA and California
regulators. He lambasted Ford for what he said was a lack of desire
to deliver self-driving cars, saying auto makers need to get used
to the idea that new players would supply self-driving technology
for their vehicles.
"If they don't accept software companies writing the code for
their cars, they're going to end up like the phone companies that
didn't accept Android," Mr. Hotz said.
Mr. Hotz also laid out his vision for Comma.ai, which he says is
seeking an aftermarket manufacturing partner that could help make
his idea into a product for sale. The company may also try to sell
software subscriptions as the network of users grows, he said.
Other companies had offered to buy Comma.ai, Mr. Hotz said. To
explain why he had rejected such overtures, he pointed to a
whiteboard on which the company's priorities had been written: "1)
fun. 2) solve self-driving cars. 3) profit?"
Write to Tim Higgins at Tim.Higgins@WSJ.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 30, 2016 19:05 ET (00:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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