General Motors, Ford, and other auto companies aren’t far behind Tesla when it comes to driver-assist technology. Only Tesla offers what it calls “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) as a beta program, for those who have paid up to $12,000 for that privilege.
Many of the auto companies that were the first to try this technology now have the ability to keep their cars in their lane on highways. In some cases, the driver doesn’t even need to be behind the wheel.
General Motors has announced that its Super Cruise technology will be expanded to work on undivided highways in the United States and Canada. The company said in his release to the press that “he’s doubling Super Cruise’s road network,” adding that it “allows hands-free exploration of hundreds of thousands of miles of roads across the U.S. and Canada.” did. The expansion will allow drivers to cross roads such as the Pacific His Coast Highway and the Trans His Canada Highway, as well as the ability to “drive Route 66” without getting behind the wheel.
Super Cruise will accelerate or brake as necessary, steer to stay in the lane, and, in some circumstances, change lanes “to overtake slow traffic and move out of the terminating lane.” You can also Unlike Tesla’s Autopilot, which requires the driver to hold the steering wheel to prove they can take over, GM technology monitors the position of the driver’s head to ensure that the driver is looking at the road. confirm.
Another difference between GM and Tesla’s strategy is GM’s use of LiDAR map data, radar and GPS along with cameras. Tesla cars don’t have his LiDar, and the company recently stopped including radar in some models to determine the vehicle’s position and distance to other vehicles, pedestrians and obstacles. I rely only on my camera for this. His LiDar, which stands for “light detection and ranging,” uses lasers to create his 3D representation of the environment.
Super Cruise is primarily available on high-end GM vehicles, including select Cadillacs, Hummers and other models, but the company has promised to roll it out to other models in its fleet.
Ford offers what it calls the Ford BlueCruise, which the company describes as “intelligent adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, lane centering and speed sign recognition.” Like GM, head and eye monitoring with in-car cameras allows for hands-free driving.
Over the past few months, I’ve been beta testing Tesla’s so-called “fully self-driving” cars, so there’s no need for that. It’s promising, but it has bugs. So, despite its name, it’s basically just a driving aid that requires vigilance from the human behind the wheel. Jerky. In all honesty, using the FSD requires more concentration than normal driving. Not only do you have to worry about mistakes made by other drivers or yourself, but you also need to anticipate and correct mistakes that your car’s software will make.
FSD works well most of the time, but sometimes it suddenly changes lanes for no apparent reason, or accelerates when you want to slow down. Just this morning I was honked by his 18 wheeler truck for going too slow. For some reason he was ordered by the FSD to drive below the speed limit on city streets.
When I first test drove it, it had a habit of turning right from the left lane, but it has improved considerably. Still, it can make awkward turns that are too wide or too steep.
Self-driving car expert Brad Tempelton, among others, owns a mid-range Tesla Model 3 that’s nearly identical to mine. Like me, he has been testing his FSD and earlier this year he gave it an F based on how many mistakes he made on the 3.5-mile loop. “Many of these flaws are responsible for Tesla’s decision not to have detailed maps, he said. It even has detailed maps of tricky areas (but they don’t admit it), but that’s not enough and many of these problems wouldn’t have happened with a better map. “
Unlike Tesla, GM and Ford use maps on highways and allow the use of autopilot technology. Sure, this means it supports less roads than the Tesla, but it does a better job on the roads it does. The sad part about this is that given the number of people driving Tesla cars, there is a lot of mapping data at their disposal. You can collect mapping information while driving, even if you’re not using FSD or autopilot. Tempelton also criticizes Tesla’s decision to not use LiDAR and stay away from radar.
With that said, I have to admit that even two years ago Tesla’s Autopilot was doing a great job on major highways. It keeps you in your lane and changes lanes safely, but I still look around before letting it change lanes and sometimes override it if I’m not used to maneuvering.
If you are in the car market
If you are looking to buy a new car, I highly recommend that you consider an electric vehicle. After owning a Model 3 for three and a half years, he can’t imagine going back to gas. Yes, you’ll need to do a little more planning before heading out on a road trip off the beaten track, but it reportedly has a range of only about 250 miles (less than many of this year’s models). , Tesla’s network of superchargers will eventually open up to other cars.
We also highly recommend driving assistance technology. I’ve long enjoyed the adaptive cruise control on my 2016 Prius, which keeps you at a distance from the car in front and lets you mostly avoid using the accelerator or brake. New technologies that allow you to drive make road trips more relaxing and in some ways safer, especially when they help you avoid collisions when changing lanes or crossing in front of you. It will also be
I look forward to the day when I can sit in the backseat of my car and use my phone and laptop, take a nap, and enjoy a cocktail.
Larry Magid is a technology journalist and Internet safety activist.
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