Recently, several students from the University of Nebraska found a way to convert a new Honda Civic into a self-driving car. Best of all, it only cost $700. Brevan Jorgenson, the initiator of the project, used open source code on the Internet to build a complete autonomous driving system that can control the car's accelerator, brake and steering wheel, and allow the car to sense the situation on the road through cameras.
How did you do it?
The self-driving kit used by Genson comes from Comma.ai (a self-driving car startup from San Francisco). Unfortunately, this technology was not introduced to the market within the time limit promised by the company last year. After the plan failed, the company released the kit online, where people could buy it for less than $1,000. However, the online release method did not open the market for this self-driving kit called Comma One. A big part of the reason is compatibility. Currently, Comma One only supports two models (Honda Civic 2016 and Acura ILX 2016).
In addition, in October last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suddenly required Comma.ai to provide evidence to prove that the technology can ensure the safety of daily driving. Otherwise, the sales of the kit will be suspended. . Comma.ai subsequently renamed the technology CommaNeo and opened it in November last year. Now everyone can download the software online at will, and the hardware modules are sold separately. "We no longer provide products, we only provide software to developers in the Alpha testing stage. We do not guarantee its reliability." said George Hotz, founder of Comma.com.
Luckily for Jorgensen, his Honda Civic is a Comma Neo-compatible model, so he immediately began modifying his car's self-driving mode. After purchasing $700 worth of hardware, his plan seemed to be going well. Neo's open source self-driving software needs to be installed on a OnePlus 3 mobile phone. The mobile phone is wired to the car's electronic system, and all required parts are 3D printed. Jorgensen fabricated the parts through an online 3D printing service and welded them together.
After Comma.ai helped fix some initial issues, the entire system started working normally. It looks a bit like an early version of Tesla's Autopilot mode, which can control the steering wheel, accelerator and brakes, as well as react to the road environment and other vehicles. "The moment I took my hands and feet off the steering wheel and pedals, it felt a little weird, but I quickly got used to it," Jorgensen said.
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