On Wednesday, GM announced a considerable expansion to its Super Cruise network for “hands-free” driver assistance. Later this year, the advanced driver-assist system (ADAS) will double to over 400,000 miles of compatible roadways in North America and reach more vehicles.
Super Cruise was the first hands-free driver assistant system on the market when it launched in 2017. However, a lot has changed in the automotive space over the last few years, not to mention chip shortages slowed many things down.
For those unaware, Super Cruise is a network of lidar-mapped roads that GM’s hands-free driving system can handle safely. This only works on compatible roads, compared to Tesla FSD, which works on most highways but uses different technology.
In 2019, GM expanded the network to nearly 200,000 miles of roadways in North America, added new features in 2021, and now it’s getting ready to double later this year.
As you can see from the infographic above, GM’s Super Cruise is mostly out East, with only select locations and coastal roads on the west coast. However, by the end of 2022, it’ll be available on over 400,000 miles of roads, as shown on the right side of the image.
The new expansion adds in many two-lane rural roads across the United States and Canada, not to mention vastly improving the coverage on the west coast. GM notes highways, including Route 66, the Pacific Coast Highway, California Route 1, and the Trans Canada Highway.
Eventually, GM wants to replace Super Cruise with its next-gen Ultra Cruise, but we’re not quite there yet. Furthermore, the automaker says that every new Super Cruise-enabled GM vehicle that rolls off the assembly line will be equipped with the full 400,000-mile capabilities, as will 2021 and 2022 GM vehicles running on GM’s Vehicle Intelligence Platform (VIP) electrical architecture.
This includes the Cadillac Escalade, CT4, CT5, Lyriq, Chevy Silverado, Tahoe, Bolt, and GMC Sierra and Yukon. The upgrade will be a free over-the-air update on select models. By the end of 2023, GM plans to offer all 400,000 miles to nearly 22 different vehicles.
via The Verge
