According to a new trademark filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), GM filed a trademark application for the term “Hyper Cruise.” This indicates that GM may be considering the name for future autonomous driving technology.
The trademark filing specifies that Hyper Cruise is for “Electronic speed and steering control system for facilitating the autonomous driving of a motor land vehicle, comprised of cameras, ultrasonic sensors, global positioning system, and radar object detectors, sold as an integral part of motor land vehicles.”
Since it appears that GM will stick with Super Cruise branding for its hands-off, eyes-on semi-autonomous driving system, Hyper Cruise would presumably represent the next level of autonomy. When GM decided to wind down its Cruise robotaxi efforts in late 2024, it indicated that some of the Cruise staff would be added to the team at GM developing Super Cruise. Previously, it appeared that GM would use Ultra Cruise branding for an enhanced version of Super Cruise that would work on city streets, but that was rolled into Super Cruise as well.
“GM is committed to delivering the best driving experiences to our customers in a disciplined and capital-efficient manner,” said GM CEO Mary Barra when Cruise was killed off. “Cruise has been an early innovator in autonomy, and the deeper integration of our teams, paired with GM’s strong brands, scale, and manufacturing strength, will help advance our vision for the future of transportation.”
Whatever Hyper Cruise ends up being, it’s a safe bet that it will be integrated into retail and possibly fleet vehicles rather than as a taxi service. Hyper Cruise in a consumer model could reach SAE Level 3 self-driving, which would be capable of autonomy with the driver’s eyes off the road. However, it would still require someone in the driver’s seat and still be equipped with pedals and a steering wheel.
Comments
Will an OTA allow current models to use it?
No chance. Would need more computer power which would require an upgraded computer system.
Call me a dinosaur, but I still enjoy the hands on driving experience, not just riding in it.
Is this different from ultra cruise that they stopped working on?
I noticed the lack of LiDAR in this description.
Who’s at fault in an accident?? “Honest Officer, I didn’t touch the wheel, it wasn’t me, the car did it”
What’s next? Luda Cruise?