GM’s autonomous Cruise cars now testing without drivers in San Francisco
California DMV began allowing autonomous operation
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Look, ma, no hands! Or driver.
General Motors–owned Cruise has started testing its autonomous vehicles on the streets of San Francisco without a human behind the wheel. (They're riding shotgun instead.)
The company received permission from the California DMV in October to deploy its cars without a backup driver but is sending them out with a company employee in the passenger seat who can keep an eye on their progress and has access to a kill switch in case of emergency.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cruise currently uses modified Chevy Bolt electric cars to test its self-driving technology. (Cruise)
Cruise has tested over 300 cars in the city with monitors in the driver's seats over the past five years, but CEO Dan Amman said the company will start with just five with empty driver's seats.
“You’re seeing fully driverless technology out of the [research and development] phase and into the beginning of the journey to being a real commercial product," Amman said Wednesday.
Cruise eventually plans to deploy a fleet of fully-autonomous vans in San Francisco. (Cruise)
The company said it will eventually move the monitor to the rear seat, but Amman didn't put a date on when the vehicles would be launched as a public ride-hailing service, which is the ultimate plan.
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Several other companies have received the permission as Cruise, including Waymo, which has already begun operating its driverless taxis in the Phoenix, Ariz., area without backup drivers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report