General Motors intends to launch a semi-autonomous feature called Super Cruise later this year despite the fact that federal safety regulators have already expressed concern about a key aspect of the system?s design.
Under certain highway conditions, according to company officials, the Super Cruise system can follow lanes, brake, and control speed. Slated to make its debut this fall on the 2018 Cadillac CT6 sedan, it is seen as a building block toward more sophisticated autonomous driving systems.
While GM touts the system as ?true hands-free driving technology for the highway,? Super Cruise still requires drivers to pay attention to the road.
A small camera located on top of the steering column uses infrared lights to track the driver?s head position when Super Cruise is activated. If the system determines a driver is inattentive, the motorist will receive an escalating series of cues and warnings that urge him or her to turn attention back to the road. Should motorists ignore these alerts, the vehicle activates its hazard lights, and the Super Cruise system will bring the car to a controlled stop; the issue is that it does so in the middle of its current lane rather than navigate to the shoulder of the road. That?s a potential safety hazard that eventually could lead to the recall of any cars equipped with Super Cruise, according to a top lawyer for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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?A vehicle system that stops a vehicle directly in a roadway...