General Motors is pushing heavily into automotive technology as it begins to test a new autonomous driving system that will debut in the Cadillac Escalade IQ in 2028.
While GM’s Super Cruise technology allowed drivers to remain hands-free, the company claims that this next-generation technology will enable drivers to take their eyes off the road so they can watch a movie while the car does its job of ferrying them.
GM announced at the end of last year that it was working on the “eyes-off” driving tech that will allow drivers to take their focus off the road, thanks to the many cameras and sensors paired with lidar and radar.
The new system will become the eyes and the brain of the car, allowing it to drive itself safely while the driver engages in other activities inside.
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To alert nearby vehicles and passengers, turquoise lights will be turned on when the vehicle is being driven autonomously.
This will let the occupants know that the car has taken over control. While GM has not revealed more about what users can expect, real-world testing of the system, based on Super Cruise, will begin this week.
GM Has Plenty of Data to Create a Robust Autonomous Driving System
Carscoops reported that GM cars will be tested on limited-access highways in California and Michigan. Each of the 200 prototypes will have a trained test driver to take control of the car whenever required.
Thanks to 800 million miles (1.29 billion km) driven by customers using Super Cruise and 5 million (8 million km) fully autonomous miles logged by Cruise, GM’s new system will have plenty of data to work with, resulting in the development of a less error-prone system.
GM stated that “real-world testing is essential to build a trustworthy system. Data captured during this new phase will feed directly back into GM’s development cycle, improving the AI driving model and overall system robustness.”
Although the first car to have this system is the 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ, the American automaker confirmed that it will eventually be available in a wide range of vehicles and variants, from mainstream Chevrolets to top-of-the-line Cadillacs.
