今年 9 月下旬的兩個(gè)大晴天，我們乘坐一款世界上最先進(jìn)的豪華轎車，與一家享有盛譽(yù)的汽車制造商，共同開(kāi)啟了一場(chǎng)了不起的公路旅程。不過(guò)，這次和以往有所不同。
我們從芝加哥出發(fā)一路向南，駛?cè)胍晾Z伊州的 57 號(hào)州際公路，我對(duì) Sam 說(shuō)，“車子已經(jīng)行駛大約 500 英里了，而你和我碰都沒(méi)碰過(guò)方向盤，這相當(dāng)了不起，太棒了。”
Sam Abuelsamid 曾是一名專業(yè)的電子系統(tǒng)工程師，而后轉(zhuǎn)行成為記者，現(xiàn)任《汽車工程》專欄作家。他回答說(shuō)，“如果不想在長(zhǎng)途駕駛中太辛苦，你可以考慮買這款車。”
接著，這輛 2018 款凱迪拉克 CT6 繼續(xù)在無(wú)人駕駛的狀態(tài)下行駛了 200 英里（321 公里），我們?cè)谲囕v快到目的地孟菲斯時(shí)，才重新接管了方向盤?？偨Y(jié)一下，我們這趟旅程的總里程約 900 英里（1450 公里），其中75％均是在汽車最新“超級(jí)巡航”技術(shù)的支持下，通過(guò)自動(dòng)駕駛進(jìn)行的。按照 SAE 的定義，“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的無(wú)人駕駛水平已經(jīng)達(dá)到 2 級(jí)，即“部分無(wú)人駕駛”。這意味著，在特定駕駛環(huán)境下，裝載“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的車輛可以在人類駕駛員的監(jiān)督下進(jìn)行自動(dòng)駕駛，并在適當(dāng)時(shí)機(jī)重新把控制交還給人類駕駛員。
“超級(jí)巡航”的準(zhǔn)確定義更接近一款“自動(dòng)駕駛輔助系統(tǒng)”，2018 款凱迪拉克 CT6 旗艦轎車是通用汽車首款搭載“超級(jí)巡航”功能的車型。通用汽車曾在 5 年前就展示過(guò)類似系統(tǒng)，公司當(dāng)時(shí)的計(jì)劃是在 2016 年進(jìn)行發(fā)布。然而通用后來(lái)遭遇了耗資數(shù)十億美元的“點(diǎn)火開(kāi)關(guān)召回”事件，而特斯拉的 Autopilot 系統(tǒng)又被卷入一場(chǎng)交通致死事故，在此背景下，通用明智地“暫停”了無(wú)人駕駛系統(tǒng)的研發(fā)。此外，一些特斯拉 (Tesla) 車主還將車輛置于 Autopilot （自動(dòng)駕駛）模式下行駛，自己卻爬到車輛后座拍攝視頻上傳到社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)，這也引起了通用汽車工程師和一些安全專家的擔(dān)憂，因此對(duì)待“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的研發(fā)工作更加謹(jǐn)慎。
2017 年夏季，通用汽車的“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)全面完成開(kāi)發(fā)和驗(yàn)證，做好了登陸凱迪拉克 CT6 轎車的準(zhǔn)備。為展示公司對(duì)“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的信心，通用汽車邀請(qǐng)了一些媒體乘坐一個(gè)小型CT6 轎車車隊(duì)，參加從紐約到洛杉磯的自動(dòng)駕駛旅程，行程共分為 3 段，每段大約 1000 英里。Sam 和我選擇了“克利夫蘭 - 芝加哥 - 孟菲斯”的第二段路線。此外，由于目前“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)僅支持告訴公路行駛環(huán)境，因此我們這段旅程的絕大部分時(shí)間均沿著美國(guó)洲際公路和多車道高速路進(jìn)行。
駕駛員監(jiān)控基準(zhǔn)
通用的汽車工程師和人機(jī)接口設(shè)計(jì)師共同為“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)打造了一個(gè)操作簡(jiǎn)單、界面直觀的交互系統(tǒng)。駕駛員按下方向盤輻條左方的按鈕，即可命令車輛沿著車道中央行駛。此時(shí)，車輛中央儀表盤上將亮起一個(gè)圖標(biāo)，示意系統(tǒng)已做好準(zhǔn)備；接著，駕駛員再次按下該按鈕，屏幕上的圖標(biāo)和方向盤上方的燈條將同時(shí)變成綠色，代表“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)接管車輛的方向盤，將以每小時(shí)不超過(guò) 80 英里（129 公里／小時(shí)）的“官方設(shè)定最高速度”在高速公路上行駛。不過(guò)，也有記者提到，凱迪拉克 CT6 在“超級(jí)巡航”模式下的最高時(shí)速曾達(dá)到 90 英里／小時(shí)（145 公里／小時(shí)）。
此后，駕駛員可以松開(kāi)方向盤，而車輛將沿著車道居中行駛，即使有些地方的車道標(biāo)記已經(jīng)褪色或根本不存在（例如最近鋪過(guò)瀝青的路段），也不會(huì)出現(xiàn)偏移。Sam 和我有幾乎超過(guò) 1 個(gè)小時(shí)完全沒(méi)有接觸方向盤。不過(guò)在超車時(shí)，駕駛員仍需要踩下油門，但“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)將在駕駛員松開(kāi)踏板后很快恢復(fù)對(duì)車輛的控制。此外，駕駛員在手動(dòng)制動(dòng)后，按下按鈕也會(huì)重新啟動(dòng)“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)。
“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的硬件主要包括：3 個(gè)外部攝像頭（1 個(gè)面向前方，安裝在車輛后視鏡中；另外 2 個(gè)則位于后視鏡外殼上）和 5 個(gè)雷達(dá)傳感器（1 個(gè)遠(yuǎn)距離前視單元；其余 4 個(gè)為短距離側(cè)向單元，分別安裝在車輛的四個(gè)角上）。在進(jìn)入隧道后，車輛仍將在“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的控制下最多行駛 0.6 英里（1 公里），而后開(kāi)始重新進(jìn)行航位推算。
“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的另一個(gè)重要組成部分為“駕駛員注意力監(jiān)視器 ” ( Driver Attention Monitor ) 。 監(jiān)視器的工作原理在于：方向盤燈條內(nèi)的紅外發(fā)射器會(huì)將數(shù)千個(gè)不可見(jiàn)的紅外光點(diǎn)投射到駕駛員臉上，而車輛轉(zhuǎn)向柱上有一個(gè)幾乎無(wú)法發(fā)現(xiàn)的小型攝像機(jī)，用于捕捉這些光點(diǎn)的變化，監(jiān)測(cè)駕駛員頭部、面部和眼睛的位置和移動(dòng)情況，進(jìn)而判斷：駕駛員是否在注視前方道路，并保持注意力集中？駕駛員是否閉上眼睛休息了？Sam 和我都帶著太陽(yáng)鏡，并想用“眨眼”和“翻白眼”等動(dòng)作來(lái)欺騙監(jiān)測(cè)系統(tǒng)，但一次也沒(méi)有成功。
值得注意的是，CT6 的車主可能需要花一些時(shí)間適應(yīng)車輛的“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)。這主要是因?yàn)橄到y(tǒng)允許駕駛員將目光離開(kāi)前方道路，檢查后視鏡或設(shè)置空調(diào)系統(tǒng)的時(shí)間限制僅為幾秒，而且時(shí)間限制也會(huì)因車速變化而有所調(diào)整。這意味著，駕駛員可能沒(méi)有時(shí)間向迎面駛過(guò)的法拉利行個(gè)注目禮，或欣賞道路兩邊的舊谷倉(cāng)，因?yàn)橄到y(tǒng)會(huì)在這種情況下提醒駕駛員保持注意力，并不斷升級(jí)提醒方式，直至駕駛員的目光重新回到前方道路。
通過(guò)體驗(yàn)“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)在車道保持、進(jìn)行轉(zhuǎn)向和制動(dòng)操作的能力，Sam 和我都認(rèn)為，通用汽車的傳感器融合和校準(zhǔn)技術(shù)，均優(yōu)于迄今為止我們測(cè)試過(guò)的任何 SAE 1級(jí)自動(dòng)駕駛汽車。
據(jù)通用的車輛性能經(jīng)理 Robb Bolio 介紹，“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的最大感知距離為 2500 米（1.5 英里），系統(tǒng)的傳感器陣列和控制器均來(lái)自通用汽車的 ADAS 組件供應(yīng)商。系統(tǒng)的軟件部分是由公司內(nèi)部團(tuán)隊(duì)研發(fā)的，而Trimble 公司則為通用提供了精確度達(dá)到 2 米（6.5 英尺）的 GPS 系統(tǒng)。
“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)并未使用激光雷達(dá)。通用汽車委托總部位于亞特蘭大的 Ushr 公司（該公司前身屬于 GeoDigital）對(duì)美國(guó)和加拿大地區(qū)超過(guò) 16 萬(wàn)英里（257,500 公里）的高速公路繪制了精確的 3D 高清數(shù)字地圖，而這也是“超級(jí)巡航”軟件的核心基礎(chǔ)部分。
“這就像是高速公路的‘地理圍欄’”，Bolio 指出，“目前尚未到覆蓋鄉(xiāng)村道路、城鎮(zhèn)或市區(qū)道路。”地圖數(shù)據(jù)可以“提供準(zhǔn)確的彎道、路線及備注的詳細(xì)信息”。并且您在提車時(shí)4S店將為您進(jìn)行OTA空中升級(jí)更新數(shù)據(jù)。在長(zhǎng)約 900 英里的行駛中，我們乘坐的CT6 在絕大多數(shù)的并道或看不到標(biāo)識(shí)的情況下，均能穩(wěn)定保持居中行駛。不過(guò)，車輛的確有幾次在下匝道處試圖下去，但很快又能重新回到預(yù)定的車道。
方向盤交還給你！
按照設(shè)計(jì)，當(dāng)駕駛員分心情況超過(guò) 5 秒時(shí)，車輛的駕駛員監(jiān)控系統(tǒng)將開(kāi)始發(fā)出穩(wěn)定的警告信息，并不斷進(jìn)行升級(jí)，直至駕駛員重新恢復(fù)注意力。進(jìn)行警告時(shí)，車輛儀表盤上的綠色“超級(jí)巡航”圖標(biāo)和方向盤上的燈條將開(kāi)始閃爍，而且系統(tǒng)還會(huì)發(fā)出聲音信號(hào)。此外，凱迪拉克還可為駕駛員提供全新的座椅震動(dòng)警告功能（用戶可選裝），也可以有效將駕駛員的注意力拉回來(lái)。警告持續(xù)五秒之后，綠色的視覺(jué)警示燈將變?yōu)榧t色，而聽(tīng)覺(jué)和觸覺(jué)警示也將不斷升級(jí)。
如果駕駛員仍未做出反應(yīng)（車輛必須通過(guò)方向盤輪圈上的觸摸傳感器“感受”到駕駛員的注意力恢復(fù)），再過(guò)五秒后車輛將在“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的控制下在車道中央減速停車。Bolio 解釋說(shuō)，通用汽車的研究結(jié)果顯示，路上停車比路肩上停車更加安全，因?yàn)橛袝r(shí)根本就沒(méi)有路肩。車輛減速時(shí)，“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)也會(huì)關(guān)閉，直至駕駛員重新啟動(dòng)車輛。此外，當(dāng)車輛完全停下后，系統(tǒng)還會(huì)在車上人員需要緊急醫(yī)療護(hù)理的情況下，呼叫“安吉星” (OnStar) 系統(tǒng)，并通知急救人員。
在設(shè)計(jì)方面，也許有人認(rèn)為，通用汽車 2018 款 CT6 的“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)仍有限制，但其他人，包括我本人在內(nèi)，均認(rèn)為“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)是通往更高級(jí)別自動(dòng)駕駛的重要環(huán)節(jié)。系統(tǒng)的“5 秒限制”需要駕駛員時(shí)刻保持注意力，這意味著我們?cè)诔^(guò) 900 英里的旅程中幾乎無(wú)法放松頭部和眼睛。事實(shí)上，我發(fā)現(xiàn)在“超級(jí)巡航“模式下，我比“自己在高速公路上開(kāi)車”還要警醒，因?yàn)轳{駛員必須隨時(shí)準(zhǔn)備接管控制權(quán)。
目前，“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)還不會(huì)自動(dòng)變道，這項(xiàng)任務(wù)仍需駕駛員完成。此外，該系統(tǒng)無(wú)法像梅賽德斯 E 級(jí)轎車搭載的輔助駕駛系統(tǒng)那樣，能夠理解道路上的限速標(biāo)志，也無(wú)法通過(guò)施工區(qū)周圍設(shè)置了護(hù)欄警戒線的區(qū)域。我們乘坐的 CT6 至少有一次在剛剛駛?cè)敕献詣?dòng)駕駛條件的施工區(qū)域后，突然將控制權(quán)交還給我。
此外，一些同樣參加了第二段旅程的媒體也提出，當(dāng)一大早從從克利夫蘭出發(fā)，向西行駛時(shí)，“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)怎么也啟動(dòng)不了。Bolio 已經(jīng)了解這個(gè)問(wèn)題的存在，他解釋說(shuō)，這是因?yàn)楫?dāng)陽(yáng)光中特定波長(zhǎng)的紅外線以特定角度進(jìn)入車輛時(shí)，車輛駕駛員監(jiān)控系統(tǒng)中的發(fā)射器可能無(wú)法正常發(fā)射光點(diǎn)。這會(huì)導(dǎo)致監(jiān)控?cái)z像機(jī)無(wú)法“看到”駕駛員的臉，因此“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)也無(wú)法工作，只有在進(jìn)入車內(nèi)的這種光線消失時(shí)，問(wèn)題才能解決。
據(jù)我估算，“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的成本大約在 400 美元，而該系統(tǒng)的選裝價(jià)格則為 5000 美元，因此可以輕松收回成本。“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)是高配 CT6 車型的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)配置之一。由于受日光影響的問(wèn)題，建議經(jīng)銷商處的銷售人員將試駕安排在太陽(yáng)升起后進(jìn)行。
然而，通用汽車的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手早已在凱迪拉克的4S店門口排起了長(zhǎng)隊(duì)，迫不及待要對(duì)“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)進(jìn)行拆解分析。
超級(jí)巡航–“通往自動(dòng)駕駛的關(guān)鍵一步”
在從芝加哥開(kāi)啟長(zhǎng)約 900 英里的 CT6 “超級(jí)巡航”測(cè)試前，《國(guó)際汽車工程》曾采訪了通用的車輛性能經(jīng)理 Robb Bolio：
SAE：為什么通用汽車決定重新考慮最初的“超級(jí)巡航”項(xiàng)目，并一些在功能方面顯的過(guò)于保守？
Robb Bolio：很顯然，其中肯定有安全方面的考慮，包括進(jìn)行地圖驗(yàn)證，以確保系統(tǒng)萬(wàn)無(wú)一失。我們希望駕駛員隨時(shí)隨地都可以使用“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)，但為了保證系統(tǒng)的穩(wěn)健和安全，這并不現(xiàn)實(shí)。
“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)是公司實(shí)現(xiàn)自動(dòng)駕駛戰(zhàn)略的關(guān)鍵環(huán)節(jié)，通用決定通過(guò)這種技術(shù)的發(fā)展，最終為客戶提供真正的自動(dòng)駕駛汽車。在工作中，我最喜歡的部分就是整合；我的團(tuán)隊(duì)曾參與過(guò)第一代雪佛蘭 Volt、Spark EV 和 Bolt EV 項(xiàng)目的開(kāi)發(fā)。這些都是公司的關(guān)鍵性戰(zhàn)略項(xiàng)目，我們也必須適應(yīng)這種高速發(fā)展的節(jié)奏，并為后期改動(dòng)做好準(zhǔn)備。
“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的主要組成部分包括：自適應(yīng)巡航控制、車道居中控制、駛員監(jiān)控系統(tǒng)，以及基于非常復(fù)雜算法的“虛擬車道”系統(tǒng)。這是一種更高級(jí)別的系統(tǒng)整合與傳感器融合。因此，我們決定在相關(guān)研發(fā)中保持格外謹(jǐn)慎的態(tài)度，公司的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層也支持我們的決定，一切都必須萬(wàn)無(wú)一失。
我們還親自完成了軟件部分的開(kāi)發(fā)——該系統(tǒng)使用的所有算法都是由通用的內(nèi)部團(tuán)隊(duì)研發(fā)的。我們希望真正掌控這項(xiàng)技術(shù)。在傳感器和處理器方面，我們會(huì)與供應(yīng)商合作，但最終是我們?cè)谕苿?dòng)整個(gè)過(guò)程的發(fā)展，也希望能夠擁有相關(guān)技術(shù)的知識(shí)產(chǎn)權(quán)，尤其是在軟件方面。這些關(guān)鍵技術(shù)的結(jié)合方式對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)非常重要。
SAE：在項(xiàng)目啟動(dòng)時(shí)，盡管一下子確定所有部分比較困難，但您是否是從系統(tǒng)整合的角度看待這個(gè)項(xiàng)目的呢？
Robb Bolio：沒(méi)錯(cuò)。在與供應(yīng)商合作時(shí)，隨著項(xiàng)目推進(jìn)，技術(shù)規(guī)格隨時(shí)都會(huì)有所變化。我們也在前進(jìn)過(guò)程中不斷學(xué)習(xí)；我們可能的確已經(jīng)確定了一組規(guī)格，但兩個(gè)月后又決定要改，這很正常。不過(guò)，擁有軟件系統(tǒng)可以讓我們以相對(duì)較低的成本，實(shí)現(xiàn)快速迭代。你很難在項(xiàng)目一開(kāi)始就完全確定項(xiàng)目完成時(shí)會(huì)是什么樣子，這非常困難。
Two sunny days in late September, a state-of-the-art luxury sedan, and good company make for a potentially great road trip. But this one was special.
“Pretty remarkable that we’ve already driven about 500 miles without either of us touching the steering wheel; I’m impressed,” I noted to co-driver Sam Abuelsamid, as we headed southbound from Chicago, on Interstate 57 in Illinois.
Sam, a former electronic systems engineer-turned-journalist, analyst and Automotive Engineering columnist, concurred. “It appears this is the vehicle to have if you want to reduce the driving workload over long distances,” he offered.
We covered another 200 miles (321 km) of hands-free operation before re-taking the wheel of the 2018 Cadillac CT6 as we neared our Memphis destination. Of the 900 miles (1450 km) we’d traveled since leaving Cleveland the previous day, over 75% were handled by GM’s new Super Cruise technology. In terms of the SAE automated-driving levels, Super Cruise operates at Level 2, or ‘partial automation.’ This means the vehicle drove itself in certain situations under human supervision, and re-engaged us to pilot when appropriate.
GM’s flagship sedan is the first to feature Super Cruise, best described as an automated driver-assistance package. Demonstrated five years ago, the system was slated for 2016 launch. But GM wisely pushed the ‘pause’ button after the company’s tragic, multi-billion-dollar ignition switch recall and a traffic fatality involving Tesla’s erroneously named Autopilot. Various YouTube videos of ludicrous Tesla drivers climbing into their cars’ back seats during Autopilot operation also caused GM engineers and safety experts to move Super Cruise forward more cautiously.
By summer 2017 the system had been fully developed and validated and was readied for the CT6 application. To demonstrate its confidence in Super Cruise, GM invited media to drive a small fleet of CT6s from New York to Los Angeles, in three waves of roughly 1,000 miles each. Sam and I chose the second wave on the Cleveland-Chicago-Memphis leg. Most of our journey was on U.S. interstate highways and multi-lane divided state freeways because currently they are the only types of roads for which Super Cruise is operationally mapped.
Benchmark driver monitoring
GM engineers and human-machine interface designers created a system that is easy and intuitive to operate. Press a marked button on the left steering wheel spoke, center the vehicle in the lane, and an icon will appear in the cluster signaling that the system is ready for use. Press the button again and the icon turns green, as does a light bar inset into the upper radius of the steering wheel—Super Cruise is thus engaged and the CT6 steers itself along the highway at speeds up to an ‘official’ 80 mph (129 km/h), although a few journos said they saw 90 mph (145 km/h) while in Super Cruise mode.
With the driver’s hands off the wheel, the vehicle consistently follows lane markings and stays centered, even when the lines are faded and non-existent, such as on fresh asphalt. Sam and I each “drove” for intervals of an hour or more without touching the steering wheel. Passing other vehicles does require the driver to press the throttle pedal but Super Cruise then resumes operation when the pedal returns. Pressing the button after manual braking also re-engages the system.
Primary hardware includes three exterior cameras; one is forward-looking and mounted in the rearview mirror module. The other two are located on the exterior mirror housings. There are also five radar sensors, one a forward-looking long-range unit and the others short range/side-looking, mounted in the front and rear corners. After entering a tunnel, Super Cruise remains engaged for up to 0.6 mi (1 km) at which point dead reckoning takes over.
Another vital element is Super Cruise’s Driver Attention Monitor. Its performance is benchmark: Infrared emitters in the light bar within the steering wheel rim project thousands of invisible points of light onto the driver’s face, which are then captured by a small, almost unnoticed camera located on the steering column. The system monitors position and movement of the driver’s head, face and eyes—are you looking forward and attentive to the road ahead? Are your eyes closing due to sleepiness? Behind our dark sunglasses, Sam and I each tried to ‘trick’ the system by fluttering our eyelids and rolling our eyes but it was never fooled.
Super Cruise will require some CT6 owners to adapt. The time it permits the driver to scan the mirrors or select an HCAC setting is mere seconds, and is speed-dependent. It won’t let you ogle that Ferrari passing in the opposite lanes or check out that cool old barn along the roadside before it starts to escalate driver intervention, as explained below.
Sam and I agreed that the overall quality of GM’s sensor fusion and calibrations, based on our perception of how smoothly Super Cruise keeps lane, handles curves, and brakes itself is superior to any SAE Level 1 vehicle we’ve tested to date.
Maximum sensing-distance capability is 2500 m (1.5 mi), noted Robb Bolio, the Vehicle Performance Manager who accompanied our media wave. He said the sensor array and the system controller are all sourced from GM’s regular ADAS component vendors. System software was developed in house and Trimble supplied Super Cruise’s GPS that’s accurate to 2 m (6.5 ft).
There is no lidar; GM enlisted Atlanta-based Ushr (formerly part of GeoDigital) to digitally map over 160,000 miles (257,500 km) of divided highways in the U.S. and Canada. The resulting precise, high-definition 3D maps are the heart of the Super Cruise software.
“It ‘geofences’ the highway,” Bolio noted. “No back-road, town or urban capability at this point.” The map data “provide accurate details of road curvature, trajectory and annotations,” he said, and will be over-the-air updated for customers at Cadillac dealers initially. During the 900-mi trek, our car remained consistently centered and faithful in most cases where lanes merge or end; a few times it did attempt to exit a couple off-ramps for a split second before snapping back into the intended lane.
Here, you take the wheel
If you’ve been distracted for five seconds, the driver monitor begins a steady and rapid warning escalation to regain your attention. The green Super Cruise icon on the cluster and the light bar on the wheel begin flashing and audible chimes in. There’s also a driver-select haptic seat “buzz” pioneered by Cadillac that’s quite effective in jogging your attention. Less than five seconds later, if the driver hasn’t responded the flashing lights turn red and the audible and haptics heighten.
Another five seconds without driver response (the car must “feel” driver contact via capacitive sensors in the steering wheel rim) and Super Cruise begins to slow the car’s speed toward a stop—which it will also do, smack dab in the lane. Bolio explained that GM research concluded that stopping in the road is safer than on the shoulder, which often doesn’t exist. As the car decelerates, it also shuts off the Super Cruise function until the next time the driver turns off and on the ignition. During a full vehicle stop the system calls OnStar for help and alerts first responders if emergency medical care is required.
By design, GM’s Super Cruise as employed in the 2018 CT6 has what some may consider to be limitations. Others, however, including me will applaud them as well-reasoned conservative steps toward the ‘higher’ levels of SAE autonomy. That the five-second limit requires driver attention and minimal head and eye movement proved not to be relaxing on 900-mile journey. In fact, I found my typical sense of highway-driving alertness to be heightened considerably. The driver must be prepared to take back control at any time.
Super Cruise currently will not change lanes—that’s a manual task left to the human. It also doesn’t read speed-limit signs like the Mercedes system in the E-Class, although it’s capable of doing so. Nor will it transit through a cordon of Jersey barriers in construction zones. In at least one hands-free situation with me behind the wheel, our CT6 handed control back to me abruptly a few feet after entering a single-lane-with-concrete-barriers construction zone.
And we media types on the second-wave drive complained that the system stubbornly would not engage as we departed Cleveland, when the bright morning sun was behind us. Bolio was aware of this issue, explaining that infrared wavelengths contained in the sunlight entering the car at specific angles can foil the emitters in the driver-monitoring system. The monitoring camera then cannot ‘see’ the driver’s face and so will not engage Super Cruise until the sun rays entering the car diminish.
As a system, Super Cruise by my estimate may cost GM $400, a figure Cadillac will easily recoup in its $5000 option pricing. The system is standard on Premium-trim CT6 models. Dealer sales staff are advised to give test drives only when the sun is high in the sky. Competitors, however, are already lined up at Cadillac dealers to order Super Cruise-equipped cars for their teardown and analysis.
Author: Lindsay Brooke
Source: SAE Automotive Engineering Magazine
“超級(jí)巡航”是一項(xiàng)重要的技術(shù)進(jìn)步，可以協(xié)助用戶適應(yīng)特定條件下的高速公路無(wú)人駕駛。請(qǐng)注意，方向盤上方亮起的綠色光條代表車輛已經(jīng)被“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)接管。
通用汽車與數(shù)字地圖專家公司 Ushr合作，為北美地區(qū)的高速公路繪制高分辨率的 3D地圖。
凱迪拉克 CT6 豪華轎車搭載“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)，除了加載的地圖數(shù)據(jù)和優(yōu)異的數(shù)據(jù)融合功能外，車輛還配置了 3 個(gè)攝像頭和 5 個(gè)雷達(dá)傳感器。
安裝在 CT6 轉(zhuǎn)向柱上的微型攝像頭可以精確監(jiān)控駕駛者的頭部和眼部運(yùn)動(dòng)，支持“超級(jí)巡航”系統(tǒng)的工作。注意，儀表盤上的綠色“方向盤”圖標(biāo)代表“超級(jí)巡航” 系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)接管車輛。
通用汽車“超級(jí)巡航”車輛性能經(jīng)理Robb Bolio 在混動(dòng)和電動(dòng)汽車項(xiàng)目方面的經(jīng)驗(yàn)非常豐富。