GM is doubling the reach of Super Cruise
General Motors ‘Super Cruise is one of the best driver assistance systems on the market, but its capabilities are balanced by its biggest limitation: It only works on GM-approved roads. This year, however, the company aims to broaden its horizons – by doubling the size of the Super Cruise map.
Currently, Super Cruise can only be activated on “mapped median highways” – between states where oncoming traffic, prevent Bat Family’s involvement, is not a concern. This careful geolocation allows GM to be a little more lenient with software, such as the hands-free, eye-tracking mode that Super Cruise is famous for. After all, who needs the steering wheel when the car can only run in ideal conditions?
Now, however, GM is putting a little more effort into the Super Cruise’s leash. By the end of the year, the company plans to double the distance the software can travel, from 200,000 miles to 400,000. To get that extra range, GM will soften its road textures – for the first time, Super Cruise will have to regularly deal with oncoming traffic.
With that new struggle, however, there are countless new paths to go down. GM specifically offers a number of routes that will be added later this year:
- Pacific Coast Highway
- US Route 1
- The Trans-Canada Highway
The company specifies that these roads will have “large sections of the road going through the net,” so don’t expect to be able to drive the length of the PCH without touching the wheel – it could take a while. before these roads are fully mapped . However, it is a promising addition to the software arsenal and another big step on the road to automatic conversion.