GM wants to be the first to offer and sell a car equipped with true auto-pilot. Hands off Cruise Control…This feature could be a game-changer in the automotive industry. In ten years it could become a “must have” option on virtually every new car, a Bonanza for the industry…What do you guys think??
Article in this month’s Car and Driver, the writer was driving a car with adaptive cruise control that slammed on the brakes for no reason. He then interviewed experts that said these complex systems fail in complex ways. Not encouraging.
I understand that the 2015 CES was mostly about automotive electronics. I think the autopilot cars will show up one day, but it will take a lot of testing to work out the complex issues associated with hardware and software working seamlessly. Space Shuttle used archaic software rather than switching to a more modern programming language because NASA finally worked the bugs out of programs written in it. They were extremely concerned, and rightly so, that if they reprogrammed in C, for instance, there would be undocumented features that could endanger the crew and public.
I don’t see it. I expect it will be like 3D TV. Something interesting and attention getting for the manufacturer to announce, then put in the background.
Auto pilot may well be an improvement over about half the drivers on the road today!
Very true, but who gets sued when there’s an accident?
It will be interesting to see what happens when some lawsuits start surfacing.
I wonder what will happen when someone is motoring along at 70 MPH on the freeway and someone whips over in front of them and then hits the brakes or tries to make a right turn from the left lane; as implausible as that may be. (sarcasm)
The car senses the vehicle cutting in front and applies the brakes faster than any human could possibly react.
It’s still going to take a certain number of feet to stop a vehicle no matter how good the tires and brakes are and I can’t see 2 tons of Cadillac being halted in 3 car lengths or less.
In 2017 this will be unveiled.
In 2019 commercials for law firms looking for Super Cruise victims will be unveiled.
In 2022 recalls will be forced and the next GM CEO will be standing where Barra is today while trying to tapdance their way around the controversy… . 
Of course, Cadillac may have gone the way of Oldsmobile and Pontiac by then.
Like the Same, I’m not an early adopter but will wait and see. Might be dead by then so just academic. If I were going over that Bay Bridge though in Annapolis, I don’t think I’d use it and just sit there with my eyes closed. If I’m going over the side, I at least want to be the one to do it.
I have no doubt that GM has this in development and that some high-end buyers will want and be willing to pay for it, but I think the statements that it’ll be a “game changer” and a “must have option for virtually every new car” is… salesman-speak. I’m sure GM would love for that to happen, but my guess is that when the business case is being presented in the boardroom the responses are way more pragmatic.
It’s great that these levels of technology are becoming available, but they’re unlikely to become commonplace. Rolls Royce, Mercedes, Bentley, and the other high-end cars are filled with phenomenal technology bot simple and complex. The high-end S-class even uses satellite mapping to adjust the suspension in anticipation of terrain changes, and on the Rolls you can set the temperature of your arm rests. Mercedes’ sports cars have been using four wheel steering for some time now. Great stuff. But the average person can neither understand, benefit from, or afford these bells & whistles. For the average buyer, the large bulk of the market, price is critical… these gizmos aren’t.
I give the Caddy division a great deal of credit, however. They’ve truly brought Cadillac back into a position of respect as a desirable luxury car. They’ve done a fantastic job. Lincoln could learn a lot from Caddy.
From a safety standpoint, texases has echoed my thoughts.
From what i’ve been able to find this is sort of like Adaptive cruise control taken to another level. I have a '15 Forester with Eyesight and the Adaptive cruise does come in handy but when I really get into stop&go I normally shut the cruise off until I can get back up to speed. It does a great job at keeping you a set distance from the car in front and at the speed you set or less depending on how fast the car in front of you is going. You still need to be aware of what the cars around you are doing and be able to react.
Mercedes already has a version good for 15 seconds or so. It’s coming.
You can pry the steering wheel out of my cold, dead hands…
That said, lane-keeping systems are a reality, auto-park features, adaptive cruise control, brake over-ride when an impact is imminent, nav systems in nearly every car plus pedestrian detection from vision systems (google “Mobileye”). We already have the individual poeces needed to do auto-drive and its been tested for several years in the real world. Pull it all together and self driving cars don’t seem so impossible.
Lawyers, get your running shoes on, you have will have ambulances to chase!
This is one system that I may be forced to be an early adopter of due to age. While I will put it off as long as possible while the bugs get worked out, eventually it may come down to the decision of either stop driving altogether or buy into this system. This could be one solution to help the elderly to extend their driving years.
Imagine that; a chauffer that doesn’t need breaks! Add auto-opening doors and you have the complete limo!
texases
…complex systems fail in complex ways. Not encouraging.
Sounds like us.
I understand that there are “Crash Avoidance Systems” in many cars, and sensors to control traction and wheel speed, and a host of other things.
I doubt that something like this will be ready by 2017, and think it will be many years later before it gets out of the testing stages.
Though it will take many of the poor drivers out of the loop, many will be in too big a hurry to allow the car’s computers to take over the driving.
Either the computer will be cautiously taking you to work on the snow covered road…far too slow paced, or it will be taking you too fast through areas that you have that “gut feeling”…that requires a slower pace.
That car that is supposed to wait until you pass and darts out…you may sense his actions because he is creeping farther out. The car that backs out into traffic from a blind alley.
There are just too many variables that a computer cannot sense
Besides how is it going to know where the edge of the road is Vs a pass on the right lane around traffic turning left in front of you. Or is that just a wide driveway that is paved all the way to the road edge.
I read many years ago that they would be putting in “Center Lane Sensors” into the roads just for this purpose, but this is far from being a realization. Hell, but the guy with his paint brush and can has not gotten to many of the roads around here to even paint the center line.
In the 60’s they said we’d all be flying to work too!!!
Yosemite
The real world is a constantly changing and highly complicated environment with hostiles everywhere. It’s full of drunks, potholes, distracted drivers, broken curbs, road gators, ice falling off roofs, things falling off trucks, and 1,000 other surprises. No computer, no amount of sensors, could ever totally replace the human driver in the real world in my opinion.
Of course, if you had told me 50 years ago what we’d be able to do with a modern smart phone and the internet, I would have laughed so hard I would have pulled a muscle! Imagine, me being able to carry on a face-to-face conversation with my son 3,000 miles away while standing in the middle of a field. Imagine, me being able to see my son’s new house 3,000 miles away on a little tablet in my pocket as it looks from a satellite… and from the “street view”. And all while still standing in the field! Absolutely insane!
I miss the old world. But I have to admit, the new world has some neat stuff too.
No one drove an Audi A8 from San Francisco to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, but it was driven there - by the autonomous driving system on board. Not quickly, and a human was on board to take over if required. But it made it there without intervention.
I agree totally TSM…try to find a pay phone today.
Quote; “The real world is a constantly changing and highly complicated environment with hostiles everywhere”. perfectly said!!!
Will the brakes slam on when the deer crosses your path…or the enpty K-Mart bag blowing in the wind.
My mom always gave us a dime for the phone in case we needed it.
And I remember my grandfathers comment when they landed on the moon. "What the hell for…there’s nothing there but sand and rocks.
Yosemite
Google claims they have a working system and would love to collect royalties from it…The industry seems to be going their separate ways…