Driver-assistance systems such as Nissan's ProPilot Assist and Tesla's Autopilot continue to proliferate. But General Motors' Super Cruise takes the technology to a new level of safety redundancy and hands-free capability.
GM selected Cadillac to roll out the system on the 2018 CT6 — now it's ready to proliferate.
"Groundbreaking technologies like these continue to provide unparalleled comfort and convenience for our customers," said Cadillac President Steve Carlisle.
Cadillac hailed Super Cruise as the "world's first true hands-free driver assistance feature," and incorporated a host of cameras, radar and sensors into the system to enable a vehicle to drive itself on lidar-mapped divided highways.
The use of mapping and a driver- monitoring system, including a steering console-mounted camera, allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel, unlike other systems that require drivers to "check in" by touching the wheel to ensure they are remaining attentive.
Customers can drive hands-free on more than 130,000 miles of limited-access freeways in the U.S. and Canada. The system keeps drivers engaged through a light bar on the steering wheel and detects when they may need to pay more attention to the road.
GM had been developing Super Cruise for more than five years before launching it on high-end models of the CT6.
The automaker is routinely updating Super Cruise as it begins spreading the system across Cadillac's lineup in 2020. Other brands, if not all of GM's vehicles, are expected to eventually offer the system.
