Self-driving fourth generation vehicle of GM eliminates manual controls

General Motors, the automaker has revealed the self-driving fourth generation vehicle and it is expected to roll out in 2019. It will feature no manual controls, no pedals, no driver, just screens, doors and seats that close themselves. This is what one get to see on this self-driving electric vehicle of GMs to hit next year. The automaker on Thursday said the autonomous vehicle highlights safety and gave an insight on the whys and how’s, including the system that will replace human drivers.

GM President, Dan Ammann said to reporter in a conference that this new automobile, the fourth gen vehicle will be emerging from the Cruise division of the carmaker that was acquired in 2016.The third generation was showcased in San Francisco based on the Chevy Bolt, for the media late last year. Now GM Cruise has come in 18 months to reveal four iterations, said Ammann.This was indeed a rapid progress and a testament to early design and engineering decision: to pair the technology of Cruise’s, optimized to suit the complicated urban environments such as San Francisco.

When Ammann was asked to rank the process of competitive advantage on 1 to 10 scales, he said it was 12.GM estimated it can roll out its autonomous fourth-generation vehicles in seven US states without legal problems. The carmaker has published an extensive safety report facilitating the process.The carmaker is all set to work with states having legal restrictions on self-driving vehicles and is prepared to resolve by 2019 any potential problems.

GM returned in its safety report, prioritizing the integrated-manufacturing saying it has enabled the Cruise with safety at the forefront.”By integrating into the vehicle our self-driving system from the beginning, and keeping close coordination between software and the hardware teams, we have assessed potential failure modes for systems, and assure throughout development to produce a safe and reliable product,” reads the report .

When in operation, the vehicles will travel in the geo-fenced areas, summoned by Smartphone’s. “When we set out our self-driving vehicles, customers may use a mobile app to request a ride, just as they do ride-sharing today,” said GM. “The customers will control their customized climate control and radio station settings that will be sent to the vehicle ahead before they access their ride.”

“This is the biggest assembly plant of GM system,” said Ammann. “We have far-fetched capacity to build this vehicle.”