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from the beta-testing-—-with-your-life-on-the-line dept.
At TechCrunch's Disrupt conference in San Francisco [1], Comma.ai founder George "Geohot" Hotz announced the launch of the Comma One semi-autonomous driving device. Hotz said at the conference that his company has worked on the Comma One for about a year, and it will be available at the end of the year for $999 and a $24 per month subscription fee.
But aside from the reasonable price, which TechCrunch points out is possible thanks to off-the-shelf components, the appeal here is that it's an add-on to an existing car that can be installed at home by the car's owner. This gives people with normal cars the opportunity to have semi-autonomous features without having to buy an entire vehicle... that is, if you have a Honda or Acura with lane-keeping assist, since Comma One is currently only compatible with those vehicles. It remains to be seen if the company will add more vehicles to the list over time.
[...] This system is similar in capability to the Tesla Autopilot system, and will be able to complete a drive, start to finish, without the driver having to touch anything.
[...] Hotz told TechCrunch that the device should start shipping at the end of the year. He also said that owners of compatible Honda products in the San Francisco area are eligible for beta testing, and can get involved by emailing him at george@comma.ai.
[1] Same as the link in TFA.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 18 2016, @11:00AM
As soon as the first deaths happen, in accidents, for any reason, in cars with that installed, he's going to have his ass sued off, repeteadly. No matter what TOS, EULA or contract terms he shoves to their clients/subscribers.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Sunday September 18 2016, @12:27PM
He's an asshole. Wasn't he the one that "cracked" the PS3 and then refused to release any of the details? So, we didn't get a working crack at that time and Sony crapped its pants and locked the system down even more.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 18 2016, @03:36PM
I seem to remember geohot was just 'in' with the right crowd, and like any skiddie groupie, decided to ruin a good thing by disclosing it as his own for 'street cred' rather than keeping quiet until they couldn't patch it anymore.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Sunday September 18 2016, @02:55PM
I also hope he took some measures to prevent his devices being hacked, because the auto industry might sabotage this new competitor.
Yes, why, I know who geohot is and I am being ironic.
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