General Motors’ self-driving subsidiary Cruise has filed a petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requesting approval to begin producing and deploying its self-driving Origin robotaxi.
In a blog post published to its Medium page last week, Cruise’s Senior VP of Government Affairs and Social Impact, Rob Grant, confirmed the company had filed the petition with NHTSA, which seeks approval to begin building the driverless Origin robotaxi at its Factory Zero plant in Detroit and eventually put the vehicle into commercial service on public roads in the United States.
The Cruise Origin “will help expand mobility options for seniors, people who are blind or have low vision, and other communities that have traditionally faced barriers in access to reliable transportation,” Grant said in the blog post. The robotaxi rides on a dedicated Ultium battery-electric platform and features two inward-facing bench seats with seating for up to four passengers. It’s expected to enter production at the Factory Zero plant sometime in 2023.
The hardware and software array that enables the Origin to operate without a human driver was developed by Cruise in San Francisco using a fleet of specially modified Chevy Bolt EV-based test prototypes. The company recently received approval to begin testing the prototypes on public streets in San Francisco without a safety driver behind the wheel and has also begun a pilot program offering curious residents free rides in the vehicles to familiarize them with its self-driving tech.
The submission of the NHTSA petition “signals that Cruise and GM are ready to build and deploy the Origin, here in America,” Grant said.
“We look forward to NHTSA’s thorough review of our petition, and stand ready to continue working closely with them to ensure the safe and responsible deployment of this technology,” he added.
Cruise recently received a major $1.35 billion cash injection from Japan’s SoftBank. The investment bank invested $900 million in Cruise back in 2018 with the promise to invest another $1.35 billion in the company once its technology was ready for commercial deployment. This investment further serves as proof that Cruise’s technology is ready for commercial deployment. Other backers of Cruise include Microsoft, Honda and Walmart.
Cruise will deploy the Origin robotaxi on the streets of Dubai starting in 2023, as well, with the company having been granted exclusive access to autonomous taxi services in the United Arab Emirates city through to 2029. Honda will also import the Origin into Japan for testing starting later this year with the eventual goal of launching a mobility-as-a-service business similar to the company’s U.S. arm.
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Comments
do not understand. Does not have in USA population enough to still have drivers for a car ? Why USA people do not want to drive cars anymore ? Thought in San Francisco, California, has many Mexican immigrants who wants to work and it would be ok as being taxi drivers — >> hope never a car or van without driver passes besides my car, do not want an accident. Here is the same, in city has many immigrants from Africa, Bulgaria, Turkey, Irak etc but prefecture insist using Buses without driver, but it did not worked out for our relief… the vehicle just stopped behind a parked vehicle and stayed there hahaha llll kkkkk so it still have € 1000 a driver per month, who does better job, for sure
You have to pay people to drive a taxi. Let’s do approximate napkin math. There are 167 hours in a week. To keep a taxi running 24/7 that equates to 4 drivers full time. Taxi drivers make about 30k but in the US that means employers must pay about 40k per driver. That’s 160,000 $ a year in driver salary to keep a taxi running full time. They cost of maintaining a self driving vehicle will likely be a lot less(at least eventually) therefore there is a lot of potential profit in running self driving taxis.
And all it will take will be one murder, rape, or robbery in these unsupervised drones and the owner will be sued into oblivion.
I’m fairly sure lyft ubers have had murders happen. I would feel safer without a driver from this perspective at least. Tech in the car can check if it is occupied by a human when it comes to get you. It’s not a challenge that can’t be overcome.
But tech will not save you when q gun is pulled or you’re attacked. Sure there may be a “panic” button that will summon the police, but by that time the damage will be done.
@Tigger
There have already been in say Lyft and Uber.
Having said that I would assume that there will be an option to flag one of these just by yourself for an extra fee. I would personally not want to Share with a stranger.
Where driving is fun, drive. But often driving isn’t fun. Commuting to work, stuck in traffic, averaging 5mph, but still need to pay attention. I’d sooner have a Robotaxi in those situations. And when you get to work you need to find a park, wasting lots of time, or if you have a company park, lots of money.
In dense populations and congestion, Robotaxis are the way to go. Also many people can’t drive through age, young or old, or disabilities. Are Robotaxi allows you to send your kids to school.
This technology also has the ability to transform public transport. Currently you have large buses, that run a limited number of set routes, with less in non-peak times. This is all because of economics, mainly the cost and availability of drivers. With less expensive small robobuses (cheaper because there is no driver) cities could have more frequent, more widespread services that operate more hours, providing a much better, more efficient, yet cheap service.
Also, if you don’t need a commuter car, you have more $ for a convertible Corvette for driving on the weekends!
I don’t see autonomous vehicles happening in most cities anytime soon. As bad as road rage already is you just wait until someone gets pissed at one of these things.
see, use computer daily, but it has bugs… if I am not him controlling, sometimes has mess… do not want my computer makes the life for me. I do not trust anyone, neither in machines, doing by itself. Do not need replicants, and for me a robot is just to weld, glue in factory, not to serve me a sandwich. Sincere there is no robot which can substitute a good housekeeper cleaning all… This in Jetsons cartoon is just fiction yet. And we can not be Yoda with The Force if this thing comes hit
Send your kids to school in one of these unsupervised drones with the vermin that we have in many if our cities?
I don’t think that this type of tech will prevent any safety issues. I’m just saying it can possibly be as safe as taxi Uber subway etc from a human violence perspective. I don’t think these robot axis would necessarily need you to share the vehicle with other people along your route. It could allow you to get in then lock the doors until you get to your destination.
Self driving cars a stupid, they could just fail and what are they gonna do in an accident or extremely bad weather conditions!?!?? Why don’t people want to drive anymore? Just suck it up and drive! Besides, most of the population will not be able to afford a self driving vehicle.
Self driving cars are a solution to a problem that does not exist.
So that white electric self driving van-like thing is supposed to be a GM product? I am very disappointed.. 😥🙄🤔
Because people on this country are wussies.
just read in motor1 GM now is a Video Game company… what funny this GM turned out
GM patents tech that turns your car into a video game controller.
boomers, boomers everywhere in this thread. The generation that bucked the system hates changes now.. and their backs hurt too! gwraah yeah..
You have no clue how old these people are so how would you know if they are boomers or not? Most overused word of the last 2 years
I’m 14 years old, so I’m no boomer!, just a regular GM fan!
I am 18 years old, so by law accepted. But if were a 180 years old, it means Conquest Of Life was done
Still i think the design has a problem. It needs a front with lights and back with red lights, reason even though there is no driver and lidar can see without light, other people of the road needs to know its coming, which way its moving etc and they can make decisions.
Autonomous driving on traffic heavy ways : 100% i agree with that concept. It will reduce a lot congestion, they should apply on buses, vans etc and this one is a sort of right thinking (for me )
… me too … the design is ugly … an it is funny all those ears around