- GM's Cruise is testing driverless robotaxi prototypes in San Francisco, without a backup driver, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
- Cruise plans to launch a paid robotaxi service in 2022 at the earliest, ahead of a wider rollout.
- Some regulatory and technical barriers remain, even as a handful of companies are using Level 4 vehicles in limited areas.
A few days ago General Motors' autonomous car unit began testing its vehicles without a driver behind the wheel in San Francisco, ahead of the service's planned commercial rollout in 2022. This was the company's first instance of letting a Level 4 robotaxi operate on city streets without a driver behind the wheel, previewing an autonomous future where vehicles like this could replace Uber and Lyft drivers. And it's a future that's now fully within sight, with Cruise planning to launch a paid service as early as 2022.
Just what does such a driverless future look like?
Kyle Vogt, the autonomous unit's co-founder and president, went for a few rides in the prototype, which first took to the streets of San Francisco last week, operating between the hours of 10p.m. and 6a.m. That's when the driverless taxis based on the Chevy Bolt have been cleared to operate, though the cars aren't allowed to pick up paying customers just yet. But the first night of driverless operation was a major milestone for Cruise, for General Motors, and for the autonomous vehicle industry.
"Around 11 p.m. Monday night we launched an AV without anyone inside for the first time. Until now we've been testing with humans in the driver's or passenger's seat, so this was a first. It began to roam around the city, waiting for a ride request," Vogt tweeted.
"At 11:20 p.m. I used the Cruise app and summoned my first ride. After a few minutes, one of the Cruise AVs (named Sourdough) drove up to me and pulled over. Nobody was inside the car."
Vogt got in, pressed the "Start Ride" button, and the driverless taxi pulled away from the curb and entered traffic.
"It's hard to explain, but without someone sitting in the driver's seat, the AV comes to life in a different way—almost like it has its own personality. I'd say Sourdough's driving gave off a gingerly yet confident vibe," Vogt tweeted.
"Once we arrived at my destination, Sourdough pulled over and put the car into park. I hopped out, shut the door, and after a few seconds I heard Sourdough shift into gear and watched it pull away."
After the first ride, Vogt requested five more that night as the taxi roamed the streets by itself, along with other Cruise executives.
Just when will Uber and Lyft drivers need to find other employment, not to mention taxi drivers?
That's still in the future, with Cruise being one of just a handful of autonomous developers aiming to launch Level 4 vehicles with paying customers in the back seat. Now it's believed to be the near future we're talking about, rather that one expected even three years ago, when optimism regarding anything above Level 3 seemed to have hit a low. Since that time a number of Level 4 vehicles have entered limited operation in some small pockets, mainly as technology demonstrators, as developers focused on mapping a number of metro areas in preparation for the first commercial service. Now that first commercial service is believed to be just a few months away.
With Level 4 robotaxis now testing in several cities, the launch of for-profit Level 4 autonomous vehicles is becoming a question of scale rather than a question of technology, and Cruise certainly appears to be one of just a few companies with the best shot at launching real driverless taxis.
