A driver assistance platform enables hands-free steering using external hardware, Controller Area Network bus (CAN bus) integration, and computer vision.
Comma AI has demonstrated hands-free steering on the Fisker Ocean electric SUV by adapting its open-source openpilot driver assistance platform. The system uses the Comma Four hardware together with a dedicated CAN bus interface to enable steering without modifying the vehicle’s factory electronics.
The process involves attaching the Comma Four component to the car through an interface wiring harness that is unique to the model. The unit is equipped with its own vision system, which captures road information, and uses its built-in neural network for processing rather than depending on the ADAS systems in the vehicle. The steering commands are transmitted over the CAN bus after the message identifiers, torque values and communication protocol have been matched to the vehicle’s electric power steering system.
However, according to Comma AI, lane centring remains the only capability currently implemented in the system, while automatic acceleration and braking are not yet supported because the CAN interface still requires reverse engineering. In addition, the software branch created specifically for the Fisker Ocean has not been incorporated into the openpilot repository, which means the feature is not yet available to general users.
The Comma Four module incorporates three cameras, wireless communication capability, processing capabilities and display functionality in one device that is mounted on the windshield. The openpilot software is an open source project that is actively being worked on by the community. Hundreds of vehicle models are supported and vision-based lane detection, trajectory calculation and steering are performed autonomously from the factory driver assistance systems.
Once support for the Fisker Ocean becomes publicly available, owners will require the Comma Four module and a dedicated wiring harness to enable the feature.
