Openpilot

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openpilot
Original authorGeorge Hotz
Developercomma.ai
Release30 November 2016 (2016-11-30)
Stable release
0.11.0 (17 March 2026 (2026-03-17))
Written inPython, C++, C
Operating systemAGNOS, based on Ubuntu[1]
PlatformQualcomm Snapdragon 845[2]
StandardsISO 26262, MISRA C:2012[3]
Available in10 languages[4][5][6]
List of languages
Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Thai, Turkish
TypeComputer vision
LicenseMIT License
Websitecomma.ai
Repositorygithub.com/commaai/openpilot
Toyota Prius with openpilot installed
An old version of Cabana, a CAN Bus traffic visualiser, now part of openpilot tools
A user annotating a drive

Openpilot is an open-source, semi-automated driving software by comma.ai. When paired with aftermarket retrofit comma.ai hardware, it replaces advanced driver-assistance systems in vehicles.[7][8] As of 2026, openpilot supports over 325 car models and has over 30,000 users, accumulating over 402,000,000 miles (647,000,000 km).[9]

History

Comma.ai was founded in September 2015 by George Hotz.[10] The first version of openpilot was revealed in December 2015, showing functionality on a 2016 Acura ILX.[11] The video and article instigated a cease and desist letter from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, claiming comma.ai was testing a self-driving car without a license.

Comma.ai announced a device called the Comma One at TechCrunch Disrupt in September 2016.[12] On October 27, 2016, NHTSA issued a special order to comma.ai demanding detailed information about the comma one, to determine if the device complies with legally required Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.[13] After the order, comma.ai announced the cancellation of the comma one.[13] Comma.ai open-sourced openpilot a month later, on November 30, 2016, emphasizing its intended use for research, without any warranty.[14]

On January 7, 2020, comma.ai introduced the $999 "comma two" device at CES in Las Vegas.[15][16] By October 2020, Comma.ai reported that openpilot had driven a total of 25 million miles.[17] In November 2020, Consumer Reports ranked openpilot above all other advanced driver-assistance systems on the market.[7]

Comma two running the openpilot software

By January 2023, 5,000 units of openpilot-supported Comma 3 devices were in use.[8] In April 2024, a 2017 Toyota Prius equipped with a comma 3X unit running openpilot was used on a semi-autonomous Cannonball run record, involving a drive across the United States from the East Coast to the West Coast. The drive took 43 hours and 18 minutes at 98.4% autonomy.[18]

In September 2026, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into comma.ai, citing five crashes that resulted in three deaths and eleven injuries.[9]

Features

In contrast to traditional autonomous driving solutions where the perception, prediction, and planning units are separate "modules", openpilot adopts a system-level end-to-end design to predict the car's trajectory directly from the camera images. openpilot's end-to-end design is a neural network that is trained by comma.ai using real-world driving data uploaded by openpilot users.[19]

Openpilot includes a "navigate on openpilot" akin to Tesla Full Self-Driving.[20] Openpilot features include lane centering, adaptive cruise control, driver monitoring, and automatic lane change.[21][22]

References

  1. "openpilot in 2021". 12 October 2021.
  2. "Comma.ai announces Comma Three hardware with OLED display and 360° view of the car". 3 August 2021.
  3. "Github - openpilot safety". GitHub.
  4. "Github - openpilot language support". GitHub.
  5. "openpilot 0.9.5". Comma.ai Blog. 17 November 2023.
  6. "openpilot 0.10.0". 21 August 2025.
  7. Stumpf, Rob (2020-11-25). "Consumer Reports Ranks This Aftermarket Driver Assistance Kit Above Tesla Autopilot, Cadillac Super Cruise". The Drive. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  8. Hall, Emme (2023-01-10). "George Hotz wants to "make driving chill" with next-gen Comma 3 hands-free driver assist". The Verge. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  9. Gitlin, Jonathan M. (2026-09-23). "Aftermarket driver assist under federal probe following fatal crashes". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
  10. "Comma.ai founder George Hotz wants to free humanity from the AI simulation". 2019-03-09. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  11. "The First Person to Hack the iPhone Built a Self-Driving Car. In His Garage:George Hotz is taking on Google and Tesla by himself". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2016-02-01.
  12. Dillet, Romain; Etherington, Darrell (2016-09-13). "Comma.ai will ship a $999 autonomous driving add-on by the end of this year". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
  13. Geuss, Megan (2016-10-28). "George Hotz cancels self-driving car product after US regulator asks questions". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
  14. "George Hotz is giving away the code behind his self-driving car project". The Verge. 30 November 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  15. Hall, Emme (2020-01-09). "We hit the road with Comma.ai's assisted-driving tech at CES 2020". Roadshow. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  16. Baldwin, Roberto (2020-01-13). "Comma Ai continues to impress with its aftermarket driver assistance tech". Engadget. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  17. Stumpf, Rob (2020-10-15). "We Tested OpenPilot, the $1,199 Device That Adds Entry-Level Autonomy to Your Car". The Drive. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  18. Dorr, Bryon (2024-05-08). "Prius Sets 'Autonomous' Cannonball Run Record With AI Driving Assistant". GearJunkie. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  19. Chen, Li; Tang, Tutian; Cai, Zhitian; Li, Yang (2022-06-16). "Level 2 Autonomous Driving on a Single Device: Diving into the Devils of Openpilot". arXiv:2206.08176 [cs.CV].
  20. Agatie, Cristian (2023-07-31). "Geohot's Comma AI Launches Comma 3X ADAS Hardware With Support for Over 250 Car Models". AutoEvolution. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  21. Tucker, Jamey (2025-01-27). "Comma 3X and Openpilot make regular cars self-driving". WPSD Local 6. Retrieved 2026-10-14.
  22. Wiggers, Kyle (January 7, 2020). "Comma.ai launches Comma Two, a $999 kit that imbues cars with assisted driving features". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2026-10-14.