Neodriven Introduces Mirror Replacement That Can Make Your Car Semi-Autonomous

In 2015, Neodriven was a project by George Hitz which could give your car autonomous capabilities and seemed like a story. However, the project got killed because of a letter from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stating that the company cannot start selling the device until NHSTA can fully ensure that it is safe.

However, George always wanted to start a DIY project that could start a revolution in the car industry. Now, a small company called Neodriven which is under the leadership of a former Tesla employee Matt Schulwitz has announced a device which is similar to George's project. Neodriven is a car-mountable computer which is based on George Hitz's Comma ai platform reports the official website of Neodriven.

This device, when installed in a compatible vehicle, can match the speed of other cars by driving autonomously and even managed to slow and stop behind other cars when necessary. The car also keeps itself within the lanes on both streets and highways. The car can manage to take turns on its own and surprisingly managed to prevent an accident by braking, however, the experience was not perfect as noted by TheVerge as the car drifted out of the lane three times when OpenPilot was engaged.

The device is still a kind of prototype and not ready for everyday use. When OpenPilot is engaged, car will not stop on red lights as it needs another car in front to make that happen. A 360-degree view is also not supported so the person inside is not aware of what is around the car. However, OpenPilot mode is not necessarily to be used with Neodriven.

As of now, Neodriven is only selling the hardware to be used for developers and DIY enthusiasts by giving them a computer to control their car. However, the device has a lot of potentials and since it's cheap at only $1495, we could see great developments on this platform in the near future.