GM’s Cruise to start testing unmanned self-driving autos this yr

Cruise, a majority-owned subsidiary of Common Motors, plans to start testing unmanned autonomous autos by the tip of this yr in San Francisco.

The corporate mentioned Thursday it has obtained a allow from the California Division of Motor Automobiles to take away the human backup drivers from its self-driving vehicles. The state additionally confirmed the allow on its web site.

“Earlier than the tip of the yr, we’ll be sending vehicles out onto the streets of SF — with out gasoline and with out anybody on the wheel,” Cruise CEO Dan Ammann wrote in a Medium publish. “As a result of safely eradicating the driving force is the true benchmark of a self-driving automotive, and since burning fossil fuels is not any solution to construct the way forward for transportation.”

Cruise is just not the primary firm to obtain such approval however it’s a milestone in taking Cruise’s privately operated fleet to a public degree with out having drivers — a purpose of the corporate.

Different firms to beforehand obtain such a allow are Alphabet’s Waymo, Autox Applied sciences, Nuro and Amazon’s Zoox.

Ammann, who beforehand served as president of GM, mentioned Cruise expects to be the primary to check unmanned autonomous autos “on the streets of a significant U.S. metropolis.”

Ammann didn’t say when the corporate plans to launch a industrial autonomous car enterprise for passengers or cargo. Cruise final yr delayed the launch of a industrial, self-driving car service in San Francisco, which it had anticipated to deploy in 2019. The corporate mentioned its autos required additional testing. Cruise has constantly mentioned the launch timing could be guided by security.