General Motors’ Super Cruise hands-free driving feature for the road is already one of the best performing automated driver assistance systems on the market, and starting this year it’s getting even better.
GM later this year will roll out an upgraded version called the Ultra Cruise, which the automaker says will handle 95% of the country’s roads, meaning much of the journey, or at least part of it, won’t require actual driving by a human. The system will make its debut on the 2024 Cadillac Celestiq, which enters production in December.
Like Super Cruise, Ultra Cruise will still require drivers to monitor things at all times and take action when necessary. Otherwise, it will be turned off. This means it will still be rated Level 2 on the SAE scale for self-driving ability. To earn a rating above Level 2, an automated driver assistance system must function in stealth mode.
Nevertheless, GM says Ultra Cruise will recognize permanent traffic control devices, follow navigation routes, follow posted speed limits, perform automatic and on-demand lane changes, perform left and right turns, avoid objects, and park in residential driveways.
The GM Ultra Cruise onboard computer features the Qualcomm Snapdragon Ride Platform
Making this all possible will be a complex mix of software and hardware, including a highly detailed map database, a powerful computing system, and more than 20 sensors—one of which is a lidar sensor mounted behind the windshield. Camera sensors will also keep an eye on the driver to make sure he is paying attention to the road and not falling asleep.
All sensors will provide a 360-degree view of the vehicle’s surroundings, with data to be processed by a measuring computer which then controls the vehicle. This computer, which is roughly the size of two laptops stacked one on top of the other, will feature Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Ride Platform.
The computer, which GM says has the processing power of several hundred personal computers, features a pair of Snapdragon SA8540P system-on-chip and SA9000P AI accelerator. This combination will provide the necessary bandwidth for Ultra Cruise driver sensing, perception, planning, localization, mapping and monitoring. That’s a ton of tasks, all of which have to be completed in a split second, over and over again.
GM says the computer can also be updated via over-the-air software updates, meaning it’s future-proofed for further advancements—including possibly the spy system GM has trademarked under the name Hyper Cruise but not announced.
