GM takes
major
step
toward
autonomous
vehicle
development
with
LIDAR
technology By
HB Meeks
Tell Us
USA News
Network
DETROIT
- With
the
recent
acquisition
of
Strobe,
Inc.,
the
LIDAR
technology
company,
General
Motors will now
join it
together
with its
Cruise
Automation
engineering team, to
accelerate
production
of
driverless
vehicles
for the
transportation
market.
The
Detroit
automaker
expects
to carry
passengers
and
cargo
with
autonomous
vehicles
in major
cities
hopefully
by 2019.
GM also
said
that it
is
working
fast to
get
ahead of
competition.
“Strobe’s
LIDAR
technology
will
significantly
improve
the cost
and
capabilities
of our
vehicles
so that
we can
more
quickly
accomplish
our
mission
to
deploy
driverless
vehicles
at
scale,”
said
Kyle
Vogt,
Founder
and CEO,
Cruise
Automation.
LIDAR
uses
light to
create
high-resolution
images
that
provide
a more
accurate
view of
the
world
than
cameras
or radar
alone.
As
self-driving
technology
continues
to
evolve,
LIDAR’s
accuracy
will
play a
critical
role in
its
deployment.
GM
executives
are
making
it clear
that the
company
plans to
carry
out
transportation
and
delivery
services
that
will
earn
money
quickly
and with
a higher
profit
margin
than
they
have
with the
sale of
traditional
cars and
trucks.
In
2016,
Cruise
Automation
teamed
up with
GM to
help
scale a
vision
for a
driverless
future.
Together,
Cruise
and GM
are
investing
over $14
million
in an
R&D
facility
in San
Francisco,
CA and
expanding
workforce
by 1,100
full-time
employees.
This
partnership
gives
Cruise a
unique
advantage
in terms
of its
ability
to
provide
people
with
safer,
reliable,
and more
accessible
transportation
options
quicker.
“The
successful
deployment
of
self-driving
vehicles
will be
highly
dependent
on the
availability
of LIDAR
sensors,”
said
Julie
Schoenfeld,
Founder
and CEO,
Strobe,
Inc.
“Strobe’s
deep
engineering
talent
and
technology
backed
by
numerous
patents
will
play a
significant
role in
helping
GM and
Cruise
bring
these
vehicles
to
market
sooner
than
many
think.”
Last
month,
Cruise
Automation
revealed
the
world’s
first
mass-producible
car
designed
with the
redundancy
and
safety
requirements
necessary
to
operate
without
a
driver.
The
vehicle
will
join
Cruise’s
testing
fleets
in San
Francisco,
metropolitan
Phoenix
and
Detroit.
I
HI TECH NEWS
I
SPORTS
I
