Google isn’t the only company working on a self-driving car. Cadillac today announced that it is actively road testing a semi-autonomous system called Super Cruise that can control a vehicle’s steering, braking and lane-centering capabilities. Super Cruise, according to Cadillac, is designed to help make freeway driving easier on the driver when either stuck in traffic or during long hauls down the interstate.
The system works by combining on-board radar, ultrasonic sensors, cameras and GPS data to give your car the ability to read lane markings and detect curves in the roadway.
via Laptop Magazine
For certain luxury cars, we are already half-way (or more) there. From the Cadillac news release:
Many of the building block technologies for Super Cruise are already available on the all-new 2013 Cadillac XTS and ATS luxury sedans, as part of the available Driver Assist Package:
- Rear Automatic Braking
- Full-Speed Range Adaptive Cruise Control
- Intelligent Brake Assist
- Forward Collision Alert
- Safety Alert Seat
- Automatic Collision Preparation
- Lane Departure Warning
- Side Blind Zone Alert
- Rear Cross Traffic Alert
- Adaptive Forward Lighting
- Rear Vision Camera With Dynamic Guidelines
- Head Up Display
The key to delivering semi-autonomous capability will be the integration of lane-centering technology that relies on forward-looking cameras to detect lane markings and GPS map data to detect curves and other road characteristics, said John Capp, General Motors director of Global Active Safety Electronics and Innovation.
Pretty crazy to think about all the technology needed to self drive a car. That’s 12 sensors/alerts/displays with more needed to fully automate the simplest of driving tasks. Makes our brains seem pretty sophisticated.