Is 2016 Honda Sensing upgradeable? Moddable? Worthwhile?

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I'm looking at buying a 2016 Honda Civic, particularly one with Honda Sensing, being a tech person and also living in a traffic-dense area. My interests in Honda Sensing are:
  1. Being able to utilize the stock Honda Sensing benefits on its own, though I'm unsure if this includes Honda updating its firmware over time as the system/logic is improved + refined

  2. Being able to "mod" or "upgrade" it outside of Honda, along the lines of something like OpenPilot/comma.ai, though I'm unsure if this would even be possible
Does Honda improve Sensing over time on already-manufactured cars? Or is it basically whatever Sensing "brain" the car had when it left the dealer's lot, that's the brain/capability it'll have for life?

And if it can be upgraded, can this be done without Honda's help as a user/community improvement? Or is it a pretty much a closed box that only Honda has the keys to (as far as updating/interfacing/improving its firmware/logic)? TIA
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mosheen

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Just use openpilot. it can even control the gas/brake on yours.
 

sLing

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I wouldn't want to be the guinea pig to test out any of the open source autopilot softwares. I'm pretty sure if your insurance found out they will not cover the accident.
 

mosheen

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Just consider it as an augmented cruise control.... you are still in charge .
 

mosheen

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I wouldn't want to be the guinea pig to test out any of the open source autopilot softwares. I'm pretty sure if your insurance found out they will not cover the accident.
if you dont have hands on experience with the system. why are you even commenting? have you ever tried it?
 


sLing

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if you dont have hands on experience with the system. why are you even commenting? have you ever tried it?
Because we're not at that level of self driving yet. You're literally a beta tester for any of those 3rd party self driving softwares.

"THIS IS ALPHA QUALITY SOFTWARE FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A PRODUCT. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLYING WITH LOCAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS. NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED."
https://github.com/commaai/openpilot
 
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Can a 2016 Civic receive updates to its Sensing ability? Does Honda improve Sensing via software/firmware updates?
 

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Can a 2016 Civic receive updates to its Sensing ability? Does Honda improve Sensing via software/firmware updates?
I don’t see the manufacturer updating the sensing system unless there was a known problem with it, especially within the same generation. If there were any improvements or adjustments to the parameters, those usually roll out with new hardware, typically associated with full model changes.

Software updates are usually for fixing bugs and malfunctions, not the protocols of the sensing system. Otherwise, diagnosing a faulty sensing system becomes a nightmare if some vehicles will have systems that behave differently from another of the same model and year.
 

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I doubt Honda will send any updates unless there is a recall.

Honda isn't going to lie to you like Tesla does and say the car can safely drive itself. ACC, LKA, and the emergency braking are great safety features, but that is all. We are still a long way away from completely automated cars driving on today's roads. Every idiot sleeping in a Tesla is putting the lives of others at risk.
 
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I don’t see the manufacturer updating the sensing system unless there was a known problem with it, especially within the same generation. If there were any improvements or adjustments to the parameters, those usually roll out with new hardware, typically associated with full model changes.

Software updates are usually for fixing bugs and malfunctions, not the protocols of the sensing system. Otherwise, diagnosing a faulty sensing system becomes a nightmare if some vehicles will have systems that behave differently from another of the same model and year.
Got it, I guess that makes sense, no pun intended. I would just think that something like semi-automated driving would be something that should be able to receive updates, or at least patches, with relative ease. Even just thinking about it from a liability perspective in Honda's shoes, if it came to light, for example, that Sensing misjudged distance between cars if it's raining, between dusk and twilight, and it's a gray card ahead of you (just an example).

Anyway, do you know if the Sensing hardware/software is at least open so that users could potentially update/change/modify it (along the likes of something like open-pilot down the road), or is it locked down by Honda such that it can't be changed, updated, or improved by anyone but Honda?

I doubt Honda will send any updates unless there is a recall.

Honda isn't going to lie to you like Tesla does and say the car can safely drive itself. ACC, LKA, and the emergency braking are great safety features, but that is all. We are still a long way away from completely automated cars driving on today's roads. Every idiot sleeping in a Tesla is putting the lives of others at risk.
Makes sense. And to be clear, I realize Honda Sensing isn't any sort of full-automated driving. The ACC and LKA alone are what I'd most desire. I think a more attainable goal when it comes to automated driving is actually semi-automated co-driving, where some amount of user input is necessary, though ideally less and less input needed over time. This would still be great to have and allows for a more realistic shortterm reliance on car driving automation.

As an outsider who hasn't tried it, it seems Honda and Sensing are already on this path. I'm just hoping it works well, especially since it'd be on a 4+ year old car with first-generation Sensing. Typically first generations have lots of issues and refinements that need ironing out, with the second generation being much more improved.
 

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You need frontal crash protection nowadays, that is the only useful item.
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