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Cadillac showcases self-driving technology
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The idea of self-driven cars has always fascinated us, even as kids when we watched K.I.T.T or Bumblebee on television. Cadillac brings this idea to life with its 'Super Cruise' technology
While we believe that cruise control in cars is a new-age feature, it has been around for more than five decades now, appearing as ‘Auto Pilot’ in the 1958 Chryslers and Imperials. The American car manufacturer intends to take cruise control to another level by brining a semi-autonomous technology that it has christened as the ‘Super Cruise’.
The ‘Super Cruise’ took birth after a detailed research and study of car owners who expressed the want of a car that is self driven, which makes it particularly easy to sit behind the wheel for long distances. To say it in technical terms, the want of an adaptive cruise control that reduced the work load of the driver was recognised.
The Super Cruise technology works in synchronisation with radar, ultrasonic sensors, camera and GPS map data to provide the semi-autonomous driving capabilities. The beauty of this new technology is that it is not just functional on empty straight highways, but also when there is bumper to bumper traffic. A camera at the front of the car, detects lane markings, curves and other characteristics on the road with the help of GPS data, based on which the car manoeuvres itself. Further it is the first Cadillac system to use a sensor that provides risks of crash across the perimeter of the car. It also makes use of advanced features like intelligent brake assist, forward collision alert, automatic collision preparation, lane departure warning, rear automatic braking and head up display.
Needless to say that the technology has its limitations, the system cannot be used under harsh external factors like bad weather, inadequate visibility of the lane markings and the likes. Cadillac believes that the lane-centering is the key to this technology, as it may become dysfunctional in conditions when it’s raining, foggy or the lane markings are not clearly visible. In situations when adequate data is unavailable, the driver will have to take over the wheel. On the counterside, it can be an extremely convenient feature when travelling on trafficy roads like in India, in which the car can take over the primary controls of the car. This means that the driver can relax his hands and feet while driving in most conditions.
The Driver Assist technology that forms the base of Super Cruise has already been made available by Cadillac in their 2013 XTS and ATS sedans. Further, they believe that Super Cruise will be made available in cars by mid-decade.
Though driverless cars are just about starting to get popular, there is still a long way to go before car owners start enjoy being driven around by no one, but it is clear that this kind of semi-autonomous technology will make the transition to driverless cars faster and smoother.
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