A Handful of Top-Tier Cruise Control Systems: GM's SuperCruise Takes Center Stage
As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of autonomous driving, a handful of top-tier cruise control systems have emerged to revolutionize the way we experience the road. Among these pioneers is Tesla's Autopilot system, Ford's Blue Crews, and of course, GM's own SuperCruise. As someone who has had extensive hands-on experience with SuperCruise, I can attest to its impressive capabilities and the exciting updates that are soon to hit our roads.
GM's SuperCruise: A High-Capability Level 2 System
So, how does the GM system work? At its core, it relies on mapped highway data, which is then paired with in-vehicle cameras and radar sensors. There's also an eye tracker camera, designed to ensure that the driver remains attentive and focused on the road ahead. These high-capability level 2 systems are capable of handling some driving duties, but make no mistake – they still require the driver to be vigilant and ready to take control at a moment's notice.
A Potentially Uneducated Consumer: The Risks of Misinformation
Unfortunately, there is a significant risk associated with these semi-autonomous systems. A potentially uneducated consumer may misinterpret what their system can and cannot do, leading to severe issues and disappointment. This highlights the need for automakers and dealerships to provide comprehensive education and communication about the capabilities and limitations of these advanced driving systems.
The Current State of SuperCruise: Over 200,000 Miles of Mapped Highway Systems
Right now, GM's SuperCruise can be used on an impressive 200,000 miles of mapped highway systems. However, an update to this database is soon to arrive, bringing more routes into the mix and including iconic roads like Route 66, the Pacific Coast Highway, and the Trans-Canada Highway. This update will be downloaded to GM vehicles running on the GM Vehicle Intelligence Platform, which also utilize SuperCruise 2.0.
Upcoming Updates: UltraCruise and Its Implications
Later this year, an exciting new development is set to hit our roads – UltraCruise. Building on the success of SuperCruise, UltraCruise will expand the capabilities of hands-off driving from just highways to surface streets. It will also read stop lights and signs, allowing for even tighter turns and a wider range of hands-free driving experiences. This system will operate with more than 2 million miles of mapped roadways and is set to become available on some upcoming Cadillac products first.
UltraCruise: A Premium Feature for the Premium Lineup
UltraCruise will initially be offered as a premium feature, but plans are in place for it to filter down through the GM lineup. However, it's worth noting that this system will still only be a high-level 2 semi-autonomous system – not quite at level 3 or 4, which would allow truly hands-free driving. Nevertheless, UltraCruise represents an exciting step forward for autonomous driving and promises to bring even more convenience and excitement to the roads.
A Word of Caution: Level 3 and Level 4 Vehicles
While UltraCruise may seem like a significant milestone in the world of autonomous driving, it's essential to remember that we're still quite far from achieving true level 4 autonomy. These systems can't yet take your hands off the wheel or eyes off the road without proper safety measures in place.
Conclusion
As we continue to navigate the complex and ever-evolving landscape of autonomous driving, GM's SuperCruise takes center stage as a leading example of what these advanced systems can do. With its impressive capabilities and upcoming updates like UltraCruise, it's clear that the future of driving is looking brighter by the day.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ena handful of top-tier cruise control systems are available in the market now you have tesla's autopilot system ford's blue crews and of course gm's own supercruise it's that last one with which i have the most personal experience and i have to say it works pretty darn well and now it's going to work well on even more roads throughout the u.s and canada gm is updating its supercruise system to handle many more miles of mapped roadways that's how the gm system works the basics of it all involve mapped highway data which is then paired with the in-vehicle cameras and radar sensors there's also an eye tracker camera which makes sure you're still paying attention to the road ahead after all these are high capability level 2 systems this means they can handle some of the driving duty but the driver still needs to be paying attention and also ready to grab the wheel at a moment's notice that's part of the problem with level 2 semi-autonomous systems as well a potentially uneducated consumer could lead to severe issues and more faith and a system then should be warranted and that miseducation needs to be fixed at the automaker and dealer levels to fully communicate what a level 2 system can and more importantly cannot do but back to the good news with gm supercruise right now it can be used on over 200 000 miles of mapped highway systems but an update to the mapped miles is coming and brings more routes to the map database this includes route 66 the pacific coast highway and the trans-canada highway the update arrives later this year it will be downloaded to gm vehicles running on the gm vehicle intelligence platform which also utilize supercruise 2.0 so that means vehicles like the cadillac ct-4 ct5 and escalade the hummer ev and also the chevy silverado and gmc sierra by the end of 2023 the automaker says it will offer supercruise across most of its lineup and then not long after it will be time to roll out the next level of super cruise this one is called ultra cruise and it moves the hands-off driving ability from not just freeways but onto surface streets it reads stop lights and stop signs can make the tighter turns required of surface streets and brings a much wider range of hands-off driving to gm vehicles instead of running with a map database of 200 000 miles ultra crews will operate with more than 2 million miles of mapped roadways the plan with ultra crews is to roll it out on some upcoming cadillac products first it will be a premium feature for the premium family of vehicles supercruise will filter down through the rest of the gm lineup while ultra cruise rolls out on the fancier stuff still this will just be a high level 2 semi-autonomous system it just presents more driving range than super cruise there are no level 3 vehicles for sale in north america yet and for this stuff to really matter to the consumer actually truly take your hands and eyes off the road type driving that won't arrive until level four happens anyways and we're still quite a ways away from that no matter what the automakers try to sell you youa handful of top-tier cruise control systems are available in the market now you have tesla's autopilot system ford's blue crews and of course gm's own supercruise it's that last one with which i have the most personal experience and i have to say it works pretty darn well and now it's going to work well on even more roads throughout the u.s and canada gm is updating its supercruise system to handle many more miles of mapped roadways that's how the gm system works the basics of it all involve mapped highway data which is then paired with the in-vehicle cameras and radar sensors there's also an eye tracker camera which makes sure you're still paying attention to the road ahead after all these are high capability level 2 systems this means they can handle some of the driving duty but the driver still needs to be paying attention and also ready to grab the wheel at a moment's notice that's part of the problem with level 2 semi-autonomous systems as well a potentially uneducated consumer could lead to severe issues and more faith and a system then should be warranted and that miseducation needs to be fixed at the automaker and dealer levels to fully communicate what a level 2 system can and more importantly cannot do but back to the good news with gm supercruise right now it can be used on over 200 000 miles of mapped highway systems but an update to the mapped miles is coming and brings more routes to the map database this includes route 66 the pacific coast highway and the trans-canada highway the update arrives later this year it will be downloaded to gm vehicles running on the gm vehicle intelligence platform which also utilize supercruise 2.0 so that means vehicles like the cadillac ct-4 ct5 and escalade the hummer ev and also the chevy silverado and gmc sierra by the end of 2023 the automaker says it will offer supercruise across most of its lineup and then not long after it will be time to roll out the next level of super cruise this one is called ultra cruise and it moves the hands-off driving ability from not just freeways but onto surface streets it reads stop lights and stop signs can make the tighter turns required of surface streets and brings a much wider range of hands-off driving to gm vehicles instead of running with a map database of 200 000 miles ultra crews will operate with more than 2 million miles of mapped roadways the plan with ultra crews is to roll it out on some upcoming cadillac products first it will be a premium feature for the premium family of vehicles supercruise will filter down through the rest of the gm lineup while ultra cruise rolls out on the fancier stuff still this will just be a high level 2 semi-autonomous system it just presents more driving range than super cruise there are no level 3 vehicles for sale in north america yet and for this stuff to really matter to the consumer actually truly take your hands and eyes off the road type driving that won't arrive until level four happens anyways and we're still quite a ways away from that no matter what the automakers try to sell you you\n"
