The top U.S. automaker General Motors (GM, Financial) unveiled an image of an autonomous car without a steering wheel and pedals on Friday.Â
The automaker has written a formal letter to the federal government seeking approval to test the vehicles that don’t comply with federal safety standards. The Detroit-based automaker said that it wants to start testing the vehicles on public roads and highways. The electric Cruise autonomous vehicle (AV) will be built based on the Chevrolet Bolt. It’s a modified Chevy Bolt without pedals. As a matter of fact, the company isn’t looking forward to offer Cruise AV to retail customers. Rather, it wiould run on the road providing taxi-like services in 2019. GM’s president, Dan Ammann, commented:
“We’ve put together four generations of autonomous vehicles over the course of 18 months,”. “You can safely assume that the fourth generation won’t be the last.”
GM’s move towards Cruise AV comes just after Waymo, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, brought its latest self-driving minivans to San Francisco. Waymo is preparing to provide ride-sharing services outside of Phoenix in the south-central portion of Arizona. Unlike GM, Waymo did not petition the federal government to allow it to test vehicles without traditional controls like pedals and steering wheel.
Features of Cruise AV
Getting rid of the steering wheel and pedals would help the company reduce weight and also make the vehicles more spacious. Not having a driver in the car will free up space for one extra passenger. The company has said that the cars will be supported by an app that would allow users to mechanically set climate controls and audio systems. There will be a display screen in the center stack. Also, there will be infotainment screens in the headrests of the front seats.
In case there is an emergency or the car isn’t functioning or moving the way it should, the passengers can use the emergency stop button to stop the car. In case of issues with the car, riders can communicate with the call centers.
Afters years of making cars for humans, the Detroit-based automaker has come out with technology for self-driving vehicles. The company has spent $600 million on Cruise Automation for development of driverless cars. Moreover, the company also bought LIDAR startup Strobe, which would help it trim sensor costs. GM also plans to introduce as many as 23 electric cars by 2023. .
(I do not hold any position in the stocks mentioned in this article.)
