Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Comma.ai Shelves Self-Driving Device After Regulatory Warning (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the folding-up dept.

Comma.ai founder George Hotz, who has spent the good part of his past year criticizing competitors and their technologies, sent out a series of tweets Friday, saying that Comma.ai, a startup that aimed at offering semi-autonomous driving system, will be pulling out of the U.S. market in response to requests from federal regulators. From a Reuters report: The intervention, by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, came before Comma.ai began marketing its device. It is the latest signal that regulators want more control over the development and deployment of self-driving vehicle systems by vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, after a period in which they took a largely hands-off approach. The NHTSA on Friday disclosed an Oct. 27 letter to Comma.ai stating that the agency is investigating whether the company's device, called Comma One, complies with federal regulations. The letter and an accompanying special order demanded that Comma.ai provide the agency with information about the device and warned that the agency could prohibit the sale of the system if it were found to be defective.

5 of 65 comments (clear)

  1. Hah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Beats having to make it work... I guess.

  2. So... defective? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Insightful
    From the TFS and TFA:

    The letter and an accompanying special order demanded that Comma.ai provide the agency with information about the device and warned that the agency could prohibit the sale of the system if it were found to be defective.

    So this "intervention" was simply a letter asking for information and a warning that the NHTSA could order the developer to pull their product if found to be defective -- that's it. So, they preemptively pulled their product from the US market. I can only assume the product was either vaporware or defective.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    1. Re:So... defective? by sl3xd · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Man, the NTHSA has a lot of gall... telling them that if their product isn't safe, they will be forced to recall it.

      The next thing you know, Samsung will be forced to recall their phones just because they burst into flames, and the manufacturer of my baby's food will be forced to recall their product for a little glass contamination.

      --
      -- Sometimes you have to turn the lights off in order to see.
  3. The problem with the NHTSA... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Is that they both write and enforce the laws. Imagine if the police could write the laws, and you have a better understanding of why federal agencies like this shouldn't exist in this form.
    It's really the fault of the Congress for creating agencies like this. It allows for the creation unpopular laws and regulations without elected official ever having to take the blame.

  4. Really? by fluffernutter · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Sometimes it absolutely stuns me how large the differences are between 'business leaders' and myself. I would have assumed from the start that the government would have to act in a way similar to what the letter specifies. In contrast, along comes George Holtz who didn't see this coming at all, and it comes at such a shock that he feels he needs to shelve his business? Seems very out of touch with reality and a functioning society to me, unless of course there is something else to the story.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.