Cruise, the self-driving car company acquired by General Motors in 2016, has announced the launch of driverless car racing in San Francisco. These mini rides are offered to the public for free and give more people the chance to experience self-driving car technology. The company however, note that only a small number of users will be able to access it initially.
Cruise was founded in 2013, marking its first major development in 2016 with the acquisition of GM. It then received a $ 3.35 billion investment from Softbank and GM in 2018. As of 2021, Cruise had a valuation of more than $ 30 billion with self-driving car technology in it.
Cruise revealed that it is now accepting entries from interested motorists who would like to take a ride in one of the company’s self-driving cars.. The lucky attendees will be hitting the streets of San Francisco with cars, equipped with technology that allows them to drive themselves.
According to Cruise, some members of his team have already taken the first few laps in the company’s self-driving cars, as have some users. The company shared a video of its cars driving alone with passengers in the back seat. A choice this perhaps dictated by the intention to put potential future motorists at ease.
Traveling around San Francisco in a self-driving Cruise car
Who is in San Francisco and wants to try a driverless trip, can go to the registration page of the company to express his interest. Cruise notes that current capacity is quite limited given the few cars available. But he will increase the number of rides he offers to the public once more self-driving cars become available.
Cruise christened each of his cars “Poppy” and was chosen to give the public a ride to San Francisco. Users interested in traveling with Poppy must be at least 18 years old, according to the sign up page. They must then fill in some data such as the name of the person concerned, the e-mail address, the telephone operating system, and other details on the eventual ride.
It will take a while for autonomous vehicles to become a common way to get around cities. The technology is under development and the opportunities for the public to take a ride in these vehicles have increased. Partial automation of driving has also become more common in the cars that consumers drive on a daily basis. In fact, features such as automatic braking and lane assistance are already included, to name a few.
The early days in this industry were characterized by largely skeptical and hostile public perceptions. Many have expressed doubts that self-driving vehicles can safely navigate often unpredictable public roads. T.Opinions may change, however, as the concept of autonomous transport becomes familiar and public demonstrations of the technology become more common.