US auto giant General Motors has revealed its new Cruise AV, which it says is the first production-ready fully-autonomous vehicle.
And if you were in any doubt about the true meaning of autonomous, given the current parameters, this car will arrive without a steering wheel and foot pedals.
GM plans to put the car into full production next year, should the US Department of Transportation approve its latest Safety Petition.
Related: CES 2018
The company says its “the first production-ready vehicle built from the start to operate safely on its own, with no driver, steering wheel, pedals or manual controls.”
You can see the company’s vision, which is essentially a fully autonomous version of the Chevy Bolt EV, in the video below.
Effectively, the inside of the car looks like it has two front passenger seats, with no manual controls save the infotainment system, air vents, locks and windows.
There are no mirrors either, (because you won’t need them), while the doors can even open and close on their own.
It’s got a back up computer should the car’s brain encounter problems, while the main driving systems all have their own separate controls and diagnostics tools. In the event of a malfunction the car will pull itself over and give GM a call to get them on the case.
The Cruise AV also has a built-in weather system that’ll help it drive more cautiously should the fog roll in (via SlashGear). Not having to drive in the fog sounds amazing to us.
Back in November, Google’s Waymo announced its fully self-driving cars were being tested on roads in Arizona. However, those cars still have manual controls.
Are we closer to self-driving heaven than any of us anticipated? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
