GM autonomous vehicle and robotaxi subsidiary Cruise is using Chevy Equinox crossovers to map the streets, stop signs, traffic lights and other metropolitan driving features of Phoenix, Arizona for the future reintroduction of autonomous vehicles (AVs) to the city, according to a recent Instagram post.
Cruise showed a brief video of drivers Gareth and Daniela navigating the roads in Phoenix in a white Chevy Equinox with roof-mounted cameras and sensors mapping the streets in detail, as you can see in the post below:
View this post on Instagram
Back in mid-November, 2023, GM Authority spy photographers spotted one of the sensor-equipped units leaving a GM facility in Michigan.
Cruise also says it resumed its Cruise AV operations in Phoenix in mid-May, with its Chevy Bolt EV autonomous vehicles set to begin accepting fares in the Valley of the Sun again after a lengthy pause. These Cruise AVs will each carry a safety driver who can take over control of the vehicle immediately in case of an emergency.
Mapping the city is a painstaking process that was roughly 40 percent complete as of May 1st, 2024. The city was selected because its government was more favorable to EV operations restarting there than the other potential locations where Cruise robotaxis might have resumed service. Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, and Chandler will also see Cruise AV operations begin in the near future.
The latest developments come at the same time that Cruise reached an approximately $8 to $12 million settlement with the San Francisco pedestrian who was dragged by a Cruise AV last October, resulting in the suspension of autonomous vehicle operation until this month’s limited, supervised relaunch.
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Comments
How exciting 🙄
More GM propaganda for a losing proposition.
Why would any company test or build anything in Commie-fornia? Voluntarily deal with that bloated, clueless bureaucracy? Not if you are smart.