comma.ai. Would you do it?

[Evfred]

Hey, was wondering if you got a chance to install it and if so how's it?

I did yes! A couple observations:
-vastly improved lane keeping on straights.
-automatically resumes in stop and go traffic
-acceleration is slow (like normal ACC)
-braking is insufficient at times (sudden merges)
-steering and stopping works below the 40mph or so limit for stock LKAS
-light curves are ok, is not good at handling curves exceeding 120 degrees
-no need for hands on the wheel, software has driver monitoring function to ensure you keep eyes on the road (you can turn this off, but why make things less safe?)
-EON unit (phone that powers the software) has a fan that is a little loud
-install is fairly finicky on the software end, Clarity is not supported by the official software so we are all using various community written ports (“kegman” being the most popular). Took me a couple tries to get things in order
-hardware install was easy, just take the cover off the LKAS camera and plug various wires together
-you lose following distance control if not using the “kegman” branch. Default following distance is basically max on ACC
-if you’re on metric like me it has an odd quirk where your display for the set cruise speed is in MPH on your dash, and KPH on the EON unit

Being fortunate enough to also have a Tesla, I can say it’s up to par with what autopilot was at about 1.5 years ago minus automatic lane change (which is too scary to use IMHO)

Interestingly a recent software update 0.6.3 has made a lot of things stop working but you can install an older branch.

Overall I would definitely recommend it for the more technically prone. It feels like I now have a larger, quieter, more reliable, and cheaper Model 3 with gas backup and is exactly what I personally wanted. Obviously model 3 is much faster and sportier with a better sound system.

 

[jack.]

Whoa, I had no idea this existed until right now. I need to try this.

 

[Mike J]

Thanks for the detailed reply!

Would you say it's worth the hassle given that it requires some additional tinkering since the Clarity isn't officially supported?

I did yes! A couple observations:
-vastly improved lane keeping on straights.
-automatically resumes in stop and go traffic
-acceleration is slow (like normal ACC)
-braking is insufficient at times (sudden merges)
-steering and stopping works below the 40mph or so limit for stock LKAS
-light curves are ok, is not good at handling curves exceeding 120 degrees
-no need for hands on the wheel, software has driver monitoring function to ensure you keep eyes on the road (you can turn this off, but why make things less safe?)
-EON unit (phone that powers the software) has a fan that is a little loud
-install is fairly finicky on the software end, Clarity is not supported by the official software so we are all using various community written ports (“kegman” being the most popular). Took me a couple tries to get things in order
-hardware install was easy, just take the cover off the LKAS camera and plug various wires together
-you lose following distance control if not using the “kegman” branch. Default following distance is basically max on ACC
-if you’re on metric like me it has an odd quirk where your display for the set cruise speed is in MPH on your dash, and KPH on the EON unit

Being fortunate enough to also have a Tesla, I can say it’s up to par with what autopilot was at about 1.5 years ago minus automatic lane change (which is too scary to use IMHO)

Interestingly a recent software update 0.6.3 has made a lot of things stop working but you can install an older branch.

Overall I would definitely recommend it for the more technically prone. It feels like I now have a larger, quieter, more reliable, and cheaper Model 3 with gas backup and is exactly what I personally wanted. Obviously model 3 is much faster and sportier with a better sound system.

 

[Evfred]

I messed up above- curves exceeding 150 (NOT 120) degrees are pretty bad. Can’t edit now though (plea for mod help?)

For me it was absolutely. The highway portion of my commute is now essentially hands free and I imagine long trips will be a breeze. For under $1000 it seemed like a bargain when cross shopping vs Tesla. But I’m pretty biased in that my obsession with lazy driving (lazy, not distracted) is pretty high. For some people “active” driver assist is completely useless to them.

The risks are basically that long term reliability might be poor and you’ll have wasted your money since there’s no warranty. I believe someone above mentioned you can also install it on an old phone to save the cost of EON (about $500).

Thanks for the detailed reply!

Would you say it's worth the hassle given that it requires some additional tinkering since the Clarity isn't officially supported?

 

[Mike J]

I messed up above- curves exceeding 150 (NOT 120) degrees are pretty bad. Can’t edit now though (plea for mod help?)

For me it was absolutely. The highway portion of my commute is now essentially hands free and I imagine long trips will be a breeze. For under $1000 it seemed like a bargain when cross shopping vs Tesla. But I’m pretty biased in that my obsession with lazy driving (lazy, not distracted) is pretty high. For some people “active” driver assist is completely useless to them.

The risks are basically that long term reliability might be poor and you’ll have wasted your money since there’s no warranty. I believe someone above mentioned you can also install it on an old phone to save the cost of EON (about $500).

This is great to know! I'm definitely considering it but waiting until it's officially support it...hopefully soon. Thx again!

 

[iHack]

This is great to know! I'm definitely considering it but waiting until it's officially support it...hopefully soon. Thx again!

It may never be officially supported since it requires 3 CAN buses instead of the normal 2, thus requiring a special giraffe not sold on the comma.ai website

 

[Mike J]

It may never be officially supported since it requires 3 CAN buses instead of the normal 2, thus requiring a special giraffe not sold on the comma.ai website

Darn it! :/ thanks for letting me know that....now I gotta really look into it

 

[jack.]

Where does one get the special giraffe that the Clarity needs?

 

[Ceetee]

Where does one get the special giraffe that the Clarity needs?

There was someone building/selling these in discord chat, you may want to check there. https://discord.gg/4JasP8D

 

[iHack]

Where does one get the special giraffe that the Clarity needs?

There's also the schematics pinned on that channel if you want to make your own.

 

[cokeb5]

Geo just announced on livestream that the Clarity will be getting native support alongside the upcoming hardware that's releasing. This is great news and means we shouldn't need to get a custom giraffe made to get it set up.

 

[Mike J]

Geo just announced on livestream that the Clarity will be getting native support alongside the upcoming hardware that's releasing. This is great news and means we shouldn't need to get a custom giraffe made to get it set up.

This is great news! Thanks for sharing

 

[fotomoto]

Geo just announced on livestream that the Clarity will be getting native support alongside the upcoming hardware that's releasing. This is great news and means we shouldn't need to get a custom giraffe made to get it set up.

I watched that reveal yesterday and, I too, rejoiced at hearing the news straight from GeoHot's mouth but on their Clarity's developers chat board those folks say no it isn't plugnplay for clarity as yet another special black panda may be needed. At least that's my interpretation. Anyways, I did order a unit for my '18 Prius which is fully compatible. Can't wait for it to ship!

Oh, and the price? $998 USD. OUCH!!! But that's WAY cheaper than the next closest thing: Tesla with AP.

 

[cokeb5]

I watched that reveal yesterday and, I too, rejoiced at hearing the news straight from GeoHot's mouth but on their Clarity's developers chat board those folks say no it isn't plugnplay for clarity as yet another special black panda may be needed. At least that's my interpretation. Anyways, I did order a unit for my '18 Prius which is fully compatible. Can't wait for it to ship!

Oh, and the price? $998 USD. OUCH!!! But that's WAY cheaper than the next closest thing: Tesla with AP.

I've also been reading that, I'm still hopeful it will be plug'n'play but maybe it's a longshot... hopefully we can get specific confirmation either way directly from Geo.
Yeah the price is no joke, but you can save some a few hundred dollars by creating your own EON with a OnePlus 3T or a Le Eco 3 phone if you have the time and interest. That's what I'm planning to do if the black panda is confirmed to work as is.

 

[Mike J]

I watched that reveal yesterday and, I too, rejoiced at hearing the news straight from GeoHot's mouth but on their Clarity's developers chat board those folks say no it isn't plugnplay for clarity as yet another special black panda may be needed. At least that's my interpretation. Anyways, I did order a unit for my '18 Prius which is fully compatible. Can't wait for it to ship!

Oh, and the price? $998 USD. OUCH!!! But that's WAY cheaper than the next closest thing: Tesla with AP.

Would you please let us know how you like it on your Prius once you get it and install it? Thx!

 

[Mike J]

I've also been reading that, I'm still hopeful it will be plug'n'play but maybe it's a longshot... hopefully we can get specific confirmation either way directly from Geo.
Yeah the price is no joke, but you can save some a few hundred dollars by creating your own EON with a OnePlus 3T or a Le Eco 3 phone if you have the time and interest. That's what I'm planning to do if the black panda is confirmed to work as is.

Same here!

very interested to install it on a OnePlus 3T but my only concern is overheating of the unit. It seems like the one they sell has a built in fan for cooling?

 

[fotomoto]

Would you please let us know how you like it on your Prius once you get it and install it? Thx!

I finally got it installed in my 2018 Prius II last evening. NOTE: the stock Prius LKA is very, very weak and doesn't actively steer like the Clarity; rather it's more like a lane departure system so my expectations were rather low.

Comma.ai has now got it down to pretty much a plug-n-play installation for the Prius with their new "black" panda. To speed things up, I followed the EON uninstall chffr/reboot/install OP protocol first (this is purely to get around shipping legality issues) and while that was downloading and installing OpenPilot, I installed the hardware (panda, harness, and routed the long cable to the OBD port) and determined the mount location for the EON (smartphone) to center up the camera (basically right under the stock Prius camera, duh). Also, you must download the comma.ai phone app to YOUR iOS/android phone (not the EON which initially confused me) to register everything. Total time was about an hour going slow, double checking things, watching the install video, etc.

Next, drive for short time over 16mph to initiate the EON, set the cruise, and let go of the wheel! THAT. WAS. IT. No trouble codes, no flashing warnings from the Prius or the EON, etc. The rearward facing camera on the EON monitors the driver's attention but since my first test drive was on a dark highway and it couldn't see my face, it would default to occasional screen warnings like the Clarity does.

This is still Beta so nothing's perfect: It tends to slightly ping-pong within the lane like a new driver. Another drive this morning seemed better to me, mainly I think because I was a little more use to it, but hey it's also learning too. So far the biggest neg to me is the EON hardware isn't really suited for 24/7 car use and removal is recommended when sitting in the sun. We're in south Texas so this is a big deal and it may be a deciding factor for my wife using one. The EON cooling fan is audible when interior audio levels are low to medium levels but I don't find it annoying rather it's almost soothing. LOL The USB cable input location on the EON isn't ideal (I haven't finalized routing yet in the pics).

Driving (umm, monitoring) freeway sections last night, we also noticed it was MUCH better at ignoring exits every time it saw a break in the right lane markings like the Clarity does. It also followed/traced right side curbing with no stripes on city streets better than I expected. ACC performance, which utilizes the OEM radar, seemed the same as the stock Toyota system but I haven't got to experiment with the full speed stop/go feature in traffic yet.

TLDR: overall this is an impressive system especially considering it's still BETA. If they can get a better hardware solution for the sun/heat issue, this will probably become a true game changer for this new, fledgling industry. Great! So when is the black panda for the Clarity coming?

 

[Mike J]

Thank you so much for the thorough review! I'm soooo looking forward to getting it for my clarity!

I finally got it installed in my 2018 Prius II last evening. NOTE: the stock Prius LKA is very, very weak and doesn't actively steer like the Clarity; rather it's more like a lane departure system so my expectations were rather low.

Comma.ai has now got it down to pretty much a plug-n-play installation for the Prius with their new "black" panda. To speed things up, I followed the EON uninstall chffr/reboot/install OP protocol first (this is purely to get around shipping legality issues) and while that was downloading and installing OpenPilot, I installed the hardware (panda, harness, and routed the long cable to the OBD port) and determined the mount location for the EON (smartphone) to center up the camera (basically right under the stock Prius camera, duh). Also, you must download the comma.ai phone app to YOUR iOS/android phone (not the EON which initially confused me) to register everything. Total time was about an hour going slow, double checking things, watching the install video, etc.

Next, drive for short time over 16mph to initiate the EON, set the cruise, and let go of the wheel! THAT. WAS. IT. No trouble codes, no flashing warnings from the Prius or the EON, etc. The rearward facing camera on the EON monitors the driver's attention but since my first test drive was on a dark highway and it couldn't see my face, it would default to occasional screen warnings like the Clarity does.

This is still Beta so nothing's perfect: It tends to slightly ping-pong within the lane like a new driver. Another drive this morning seemed better to me, mainly I think because I was a little more use to it, but hey it's also learning too. So far the biggest neg to me is the EON hardware isn't really suited for 24/7 car use and removal is recommended when sitting in the sun. We're in south Texas so this is a big deal and it may be a deciding factor for my wife using one. The EON cooling fan is audible when interior audio levels are low to medium levels but I don't find it annoying rather it's almost soothing. LOL The USB cable input location on the EON isn't ideal (I haven't finalized routing yet in the pics).

Driving (umm, monitoring) freeway sections last night, we also noticed it was MUCH better at ignoring exits every time it saw a break in the right lane markings like the Clarity does. It also followed/traced right side curbing with no stripes on city streets better than I expected. ACC performance, which utilizes the OEM radar, seemed the same as the stock Toyota system but I haven't got to experiment with the full speed stop/go feature in traffic yet.

TLDR: overall this is an impressive system especially considering it's still BETA. If they can get a better hardware solution for the sun/heat issue, this will probably become a true game changer for this new, fledgling industry. Great! So when is the black panda for the Clarity coming?


View attachment 6446 View attachment 6447

 

[cokeb5]

Same here!

very interested to install it on a OnePlus 3T but my only concern is overheating of the unit. It seems like the one they sell has a built in fan for cooling?

Yeah overheating is something to be concerned about. If you check out the discord there's tons of discussion about cooling using aftermarket fans, installing heatsinks, etc. Additionally, since leaving the EON in the sun can be an issue, there are a variety of solutions people have come up with to make removing the EON quite easy. There are some 3D printed cases with fans attached to them that will use magnetic cables so that you're easily able to slide the OP3T into the case/mount and it auto plugs in the cable, then when you're done with your drive you just slide the phone out and either bring it with you or put it in the glovebox.

 

[Mike J]

That's great! Good to know. Thanks!

Yeah overheating is something to be concerned about. If you check out the discord there's tons of discussion about cooling using aftermarket fans, installing heatsinks, etc. Additionally, since leaving the EON in the sun can be an issue, there are a variety of solutions people have come up with to make removing the EON quite easy. There are some 3D printed cases with fans attached to them that will use magnetic cables so that you're easily able to slide the OP3T into the case/mount and it auto plugs in the cable, then when you're done with your drive you just slide the phone out and either bring it with you or put it in the glovebox.