GM wants to deploy fully autonomous, manual control-free vehicles by 2019

[Polycount]

Self-driving car tech is nothing new but many skeptics still feel that full level four automation is at least a few years off, due in no small part to the many legal hurdles car companies and tech companies alike will have to overcome to achieve their ambitions. However, if GM has their way, full automation might be coming a lot sooner than we think.

The car company recently filed a Safety Petition with the Department of Transportation, asking for permission to "safely deploy self-driving [vehicles] in 2019." The vehicle GM plans to deploy, dubbed the Cruise AV, will reportedly be the "first production-ready vehicle built from the start to operate safely on its own." The company released a short video offering us a sneak peek at what the vehicle may look like when it rolls out of GM's factories.

Not only will the vehicle reportedly be capable of driving itself, it doesn't have any manual controls at all - there's no steering wheel and no brake or gas pedals to be seen. Designing a vehicle from the ground up with full automation in mind is a bold move, given that the company has yet to receive approval to deploy the vehicle to begin with, but one that could usher in the age of full autonomy much more quickly if it proves successful.

The Cruise AV will be the fourth generation of GM's all-electric Chevy Bolt vehicles. "It's a pretty exciting moment in the history of the path to wide scale [autonomous vehicle] deployment and having the first production car with no driver controls," GM President Dan Ammann said in a statement to The Verge. "And it's an interesting thing to share with everybody."

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https://www.techspot.com/news/72732-gm-wants-deploy-fully-autonomous-manual-control-free.html

 

[VitalyT]

Back-seat steering wheel? Awesome, I'll take it!

 

[yRaz]

I will never enter a vehicle that has no manual controls. Even if it's designed to be fully autonomous having manual controls is a saftey feature

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

No thanks. I don't care how cool or cheap it is there is no way I'd get in that thing to be carted around town without some sort of physical-connected manual control system.

Even more worrying is GM might as well be government owned, so with the amount of corrupt and evil people working in government and at any corporation (in this case GM) some people may be mysteriously killed in some "freak accident" in one of these vehicles. Assassination through self driving vehicles... it'll happen.

 

[jwdR1]

Sigh, they are bound and determined to take all the fun out of life.

 

[andrewdoyle88]

It will be nice once all of the peripherals are somehow built into the car so it doesn't look like you have a huge bike rack on top of the car.

 

[senketsu]

In Soviet Union, autonomous car takes you directly to Gulag, guaranteed when it comes at night

 

[ShagnWagn]

This is a great step in proving autonomous vehicles... will fail.

 

[wiyosaya]

No manual controls, no thanks!

 

[Fimbulvetr]

How long will it take for this to go from niche to norm? And then one day, they will pass a law that says you are no longer even allowed to drive yourself any longer, at least not without a special permit (which will, of course, cost extra).

 

[senketsu]

I'm pretty uncomfortable with getting into a vehicle that can lock the doors and take me where it wants to go and there is SFA I can do about it. Even if it's not the government, these things will be hacked. Things like vehicle pranking, may be coming soon to an area near you.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Why even have a front and backseat?

Why not just have a bed for me and my wife in the car when we drive to Florida?

 

[cliffordcooley]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I've always heard this phrase. Want in one hand, S-it in the other, and see which one fills up faster.

 

[Uncle Al]

This will certainly cause a population explosion ..... after all, what are a bunch of teenagers going to do if they don't actually have to drive, but can be away from the house for a few hours? GM will have to install "hump curtains" for those that are a bit more shy .....

 

[bohemond1099]

Siri /Bixby have tried navigating me into cornfields to guide me to my destination. Drivers still can eff up your PC from time to time, hackers have shown they can crack self driving cars. Not just no, but hell no.

 

[treetops]

Pretty cool, you could rent your car out as a taxi while you sleep\work.

 

[Evernessince]

How long will it take for this to go from niche to norm? And then one day, they will pass a law that says you are no longer even allowed to drive yourself any longer, at least not without a special permit (which will, of course, cost extra).

Given the benefits, it should become the norm. Too many people die from vehicle accidents. If Autonomous cars can cut that in half or less, that would be a huge win.

Not to mention, it enables those who can't drive to be able to drive and removes the requirement of having a drivers license to get around. Do you know how many people drive with questionable eyesight? I'd imagine quite a few old people do, simply because they have no other choice. It's safer for everyone if that never needs to happen.

"And then one day, they will pass a law that says you are no longer even allowed to drive yourself any longer, at least not without a special permit"

If you enjoy driving then you should have no problem getting that special permit. Otherwise not everyone wants to be forced to learn a skill that can be automated and made safer.