General Motors' (GM) venture into the world of autonomous vehicles did not end well, its Cruise division having been shut down last year following a highly publicized incident that resulted in the death of a pedestrian.
The company hasn’t turned its back on the technology, however. As reported by Bloomberg, which cited sources close to the dossier, GM is looking to bring back some former employees from the defunct Cruise division for a new project aimed at developing an autonomous vehicle.
Personal use
This time, the sources say, the project would focus on vehicles for personal use, rather than a robotaxi service. The first step will be to develop a hands-off, eyes-off driving capability with a human on board the vehicle. Ultimately, the division will want to have a model capable of driving with no one at the wheel.
The plan was reportedly detailed by Sterling Anderson during a staff meeting on August 6th. The former head of Tesla's Autopilot system joined GM at the beginning of the year.
Anderson said he sees autonomous driving as the future and that GM plans to recruit more talent, by bringing back some Cruise employees and hiring new staff. They will work at the automaker's dedicated facilities located in Mountain View, California.
GM told Bloomberg it is testing human-driven vehicles on public roads with the goal of compiling data and information that can be used for the development of self-driving technology.
"We are accelerating the development of autonomous driving technology capable of operating without active human supervision," said spokesperson Chaiti Sen in a statement.
Despite the Cruise shutdown and layoffs at GM's software division, GM CEO Mary Barra has continued to insist that the company remains committed to developing autonomous vehicles. During the second-quarter earnings presentation, she cited autonomous technology as one of the clear priorities for the company she leads.