General Motors is planning a big expansion of Super Cruise, its hands-free driving network, with hundreds of thousands of additional miles of roads coming online later this year.
Super Cruise, which launched in 2017, isn't a fully self-driving system. Drivers can take their hands off the wheel, but they must remain attentive. A combination of cameras, sensors, GPS, and LiDAR mapping technology keeps compatible cars on the road, while Adaptive Cruise Control maintains speeds and a safe gap behind other cars on the road.
That mapping technology currently covers more than 200,000 miles of road. The expansion announced today will "double" the Super Cruise network and bring it to “additional state and federal routes” as well as undivided highways. That includes routes like US Route 66, the Pacific Coast Highway, the Overseas Highway, and the Trans-Canada Highway, GM says.
The expansion is set for late 2022 for vehicles built on the Vehicle Intelligence Platform (VIP) electrical architecture. That includes the Cadillac CT4, CT5, Escalade, and Lyriq; the GMC Hummer EV and Sierra 1500; and the Silverado 1500, Car and Driver reports. It will arrive via an over-the-air update.
This news comes as Tesla’s self-driving technology is under scrutiny from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration following 11 crashes that occurred while Autopilot was active.