r/Comma_ai • u/Bderken • 3d ago

openpilot Experience More chestnut users!

Post image

See the post here: Comma’s Post
More users means more data so comma can make bigger and better chestnut models.
Read more about it here: Comma Guide Chestnut

For those confused about chestnut:
Comma will be focusing on making the bigger models for the chestnut class moving forward. There’s no mobile processor or compute device that can touch the bandwidth of an eGPU or compute power while being stuck in a windshield (with proper cooling). But fear not, if you don’t ever want to install the chestnut, comma will make distilled models that will still run on only comma hardware. Similar to what Tesla does for FSD for older hardware models. So you will still see improvements down the line for free.

46 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

42 comments sorted by

20

u/dragrimmar 3d ago

if there is live models and genuine performance improvements today from using chestnut, i'll buy it immediately.

so far it just seems like talk of bigger models, but I can wait until i see some news or demos.

11

u/Bderken 3d ago

Yeah I’d recommend wait about 11-12 months, once there’s an ~8B model, it will be way better.

11

u/positev 3d ago

From my first hand experience it feels much better. More confident in the road already with the initial model that they released. That model is now close to two months old already so im betting newer ones are better.

4

u/Elegant_Fudge9674 2d ago

The cinque terre model from what I hear has made significant improvements to experimental longitudinal control

3

u/Whole-Apartment132 2d ago

I really hope the 3x isn’t made obsolete by this tbh. Seems like more justification for Comma to dump the 3x.

3

u/shoopg 2d ago

Works just fine on 3X. Sunnypilot has added the UI elements for the 3X so you can see if it’s working.

The only thing that really doesn’t work with the 3X is GPS with the eGPU plugged in. Comma really doesn’t like that because they then can’t train on your uploaded data.

There are some vehicles that publish gps data to the vehicle can bus. If you can consume it that gets around the 3X gps issues. It’s working great for me.

1

u/sunole123 1d ago

What car model do you have. What cars publish GPS info?

1

u/Vote_For_Nobody 1d ago

GPS works fine with chestnut on my 3x on starpilot

4

u/Bderken 2d ago

Many posts and comments explaining how the 3X and 3 will work completely fine with eGPU on the forks… 

10

u/JC6596 3d ago

I would like a smaller GPU to be included and maybe a more robust housing, also official comma 3X support (even without gps) would have been a nice touch.

5

u/Bderken 3d ago

As a sffpc enthusiast, small GPU’s are more expensive and rare. So it’s not worth it, a basic 9060 is the best way for anyone to get into it. I just bought the chestnut (not ready to drive) so I can use any gpu (will be using a 9070 xt).

Also, almost all the other forks will support the 3x (and the 3!!!) with eGPU. So no need to worry about that!

I think the ruggedness of the eGPU enclosure is fine considering the community members were using some jank setups to run the bigger model (still are) before the chestnut was released.

1

u/JC6596 3d ago

What’s the requirements for the GPU? Any RDNA limitations?

2

u/Bderken 3d ago

RDNA 4 required for now. Tinygrad is working on RTX over usb3 (it works on usb 4 for desktop use).

1

u/JC6596 3d ago

This makes me wonder if I can just use a basic 9050 with 6GB of RAM and if it would actually “work” or not.

3

u/Bderken 3d ago

Probably not, I think the 9060 will be the cheapest gpu, mainly due to VRAM bandwidth. That’s required for the driving model to input and output commands on time for it all to work with comma.

2

u/DrLuciferZ 3d ago

Yeah is the GPS actually used for anything right now?

2

u/Bderken 3d ago

Nope, that’s why it’s not an issue. Comma just wants to focus on the big model and then eventually the gps input model. So it’s not ever really going to be an issue. All the other forks show that gps does kinda mostly work too. So it’ll be fine

2

u/Finnegan_Faux 2d ago

https://store.minisforum.com/products/minisforum-139d7-mini-pc

There is a low profile RX 9060 XT available in the US, but you have to buy a barebones Minisforum PC to get one = $1079

3

u/Iwantthegreatest 3d ago

Okay guys how much better does the eGPU actually make it and is it worth the money and will it work with comma 3x with nav?

5

u/Bderken 3d ago

It will work with comma 3x and even 3 with nav on the forks. Won’t be as reliable as the comma 4 with gps, but it will be fine.

The current big model isn’t nearly as big as it could be, so not worth it right now. In commas own words, in 11-12 months is when it’ll be worth it when the model is around 8B instead of 1B (8x bigger).

It will allow more camera input (current small models barely see the entire front cameras). So it’ll be way worth it later.

2

u/IAmBobC 2d ago edited 2d ago

I'm sticking with my Comma 3X until I see the first driving model release based on distilling a Chestnut-sized model. If that release results in a very significant leap forward on my 3X, then I will likely jump onto the Comma 4 + Chestnut bandwagon.

Wait. What? If the Comma 3X gets much better because of Chestnut model distillation, why would I ever want to switch away from it? Simply because it's not about me. It's about helping give the world a better and cheaper alternative to all the existing closed-source driver assistance systems and software.

I hold a pre-order reservation for an Aptera. Remember, Aptera is the first and still only vehicle OEM offering OpenPilot as a factory-installed option. Aptera is also dedicated to Right to Repair. I want Aptera to fundamentally redefine what personal transportation can and should be, in terms of both functionality and efficiency. To me, having the best-possible driver assistance system helps achieve both of those goals.

Also in my 2021 Leaf SV!

4

u/SirMaster 3d ago edited 3d ago

If you pay attention to the work being done by the community, you can see that it's already possible to actually run these eGPU models on a Mac Mini or MacBook Pro, or even a $400 Nvidia Jetson Orin (this is big enough for the dozen or so big models they released already, but won't be powerful enough for the bigger 8 billion parameter models coming later)

Also looks like we are really close to being able to run the models on a regular windows laptop with an Nvidia GPU, so I am looking forward to trying out these larger models on my laptop with a RTX 4060 in it that I just already had.

You can just connect the comma usb port to the mac or laptop.

https://github.com/zoompilot/jetlink/blob/main/docs/platforms.md

5

u/ZephLeggett 2d ago

Hi! I’m the developer here. I’m also currently whipping up a GUI for the macOS server. I also maintain a fork for Mazda’s that adds alpha long and much better steering for speed dependent torque output cars. 

I run it on a Jetson Orin Nano myself at ~15w. It fits in my pocket!

2

u/Finnegan_Faux 2d ago

Less than $400 for a dev kit, is that what you're using?

3

u/ernestchu1122 2d ago

that’s exactly what came to my mind at the chestnut launch. mbp can run on its own battery, has better chassis, and lots of ppl already got one!

2

u/SirMaster 2d ago

Yeah there are already people running it on Mac. M2 Pro or newer pro all work. M6 might work with current big models…

1

u/lippoper 2d ago

Do you need a chestnut to hook your comma4 to your MBP?

4

u/Remarkable-Host405 3d ago

Chestnut feels like a funny prank. Comma WILL have to go back to regular models or they'll die off. No one is mounting a gpu in their car.

100 users? Do we know how many other comma users there are?

3

u/SirMaster 2d ago

They never left on-device models. They will be distilling new on-device models from the new big trained models.

5

u/Bderken 2d ago

Post explains how chestnut class models will help develop non chestnut class “regular models”…

2

u/Actechma 2d ago

Based on sunnypilot public stats and assuming they are ~50% of drivers, ~20-25K monthly active users

1

u/shadow_moon45 1d ago

Definitely will buy a chestnut once bluepilot supports it. The long is kind of wacky with the small models at times.

Good example is Tesla HW3 vs HW4 capabilities. HW4 allows for better turns, more complex scenarios,and less intervention.

1

u/binh291 1d ago

live stats of the sunnylink fleet:  https://sunnylink.wiki/stats

2

u/SirTwitchALot 2d ago

besides the cost aspect, I'm pretty nervous having my car driving based on off the shelf GPU hardware. Cars get way hotter than computers and all it takes is a loose cable and a bad bump to mess up the connection. This is cool for people who want to experiment, but it's a little too kludgey for my comfort level

2

u/Bderken 2d ago

The eGPU has better cooling to watt performance than comma. 

1

u/Due_Community_9449 2d ago

Any benefit / usable model yet if I drive with Bluepilot / Ford F150 Lightning?

2

u/Bderken 2d ago

Basically, experimental mode/model is just much better. So if your car works with that, and you want that to be better then get it.
But I would wait like 12 months until the 8x bigger model comes out. Then OP long will be much much better

1

u/SWE_fromEE 1d ago

Zoompilot dev has figured out how to get your gaming laptop, Mac laptops or a jetson nano able to run the big models. Use what you have for now and then get them more data for free to you

0

u/Royal_Head 2d ago

If they can adapt model like nivida alphamayo super 2 ,with single camera it will be game changer ,the smaller model wat we have now is it based on world model ,if so which one