Super Cruise, General Motors’ “hands-free” advanced driver-assist system (ADAS), will soon be offered on a far larger number of North American roadways. GM stated today that the ADAS system would be able to function on 400,000 miles of roadways, including non-divided highways, later this year, thereby doubling Super Cruise’s existing coverage in the United States and Canada.
It is a significant increase in Super Cruise’s capabilities at a time when US authorities are carefully studying driver-assist technologies and safety advocates are pressing for more openness, citing studies that illustrate how new technology may unwittingly cause safety dangers.
Super Cruise, which debuted with the Cadillac CT6, utilizes data from cameras and radar sensors incorporated in the vehicle, GPS data, and lidar mapping data acquired by the firm to enable hands-free driving and, in certain situations, automated lane changes. It combines this feature with a driver-monitoring system that employs an infrared camera to ensure that the driver is paying attention to the road in the event that Super Cruise is required to give over control to the driver.
