The US group General Motors presents new Ultra Cruise technology. And there are savings plans at Cruise.
General Motors revealed what to expect from its new Ultra Cruise technology. It will be introduced in 2024 with the Cadillac Celestiq. The advanced next-generation driver assistance system is designed to enable hands-free driving 95% of the time. The all-round view is guaranteed by a new type of sensor set.
The technology, based on the Super Cruise system, provides an automated system whose sensors consist of cameras, short and long-range radars, lidar and calculates them using a new computing system with chips from Qualcomm. Seven eight-megapixel long-range cameras are located on the front, corner, rear and side of the vehicle and enable the system to recognize objects such as road signs, traffic lights, other vehicles and foot traffic. Inside, the car monitors the driver’s head and eyes to ensure the human is focused on the road. Safety, according to General Motors, is a top priority.
Four short-range radars on the corners cover a radius of up to 190 meters. These are accompanied by three long-range 4D radars at the front and rear, providing ACC speeds as well as lane changes at highway speeds. They also help determine safe stopping distances.
While Super Cruise currently works on 400,000 miles of compatible roads in the US and Canada, Ultra Cruise-enabled cars are known to be capable of driving around two million miles of highway stretches at launch. Over time this will expand to include rural and urban roads.
With the Celestiq expected to cost more than $300,000, access to Ultra Cruise, which will be reserved for GM’s premium EVs, won’t come cheap. However, it must be emphasized that this is a level 2 technology. This means that people cannot devote themselves to other things, as is the case with Mercedes-Benz, for example S class on level 3 acts.
GM has also announced that it plans to cut costs for startup Cruise this year. Cruise currently operates robo-taxis in san francisco,Phoenix and Austin and is developing his own autonomous vehicle, the Origin. According to the calculations, Cruise lost $5 million a day in the second quarter of 2022.