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GM Scraps Cruise Origin Robotaxi With No Steering Wheel
GM has decided to forego building a unique vehicle, a robotaxi design with no pedals and no steering wheel - just opposable bench seating. The automotive giant will instead make use of its next-generation Chevy Bolt, which can be driven in the standard manner by a person (or driven by your chauffeur robot!), with steering wheel and foot pedals.
(Interior of GM's Cruise Origin - No Steering Wheel!)
Interior space is abundant. Thanks to Origin’s all-electric, driverless car technology, the layout is devoted entirely to comfort. There’s no internal combustion engine or hood to get in the way, plus no pedals, no steering wheel, or anything else to manually pilot the vehicle. Rather, there’s just two two opposing bench seats to accommodate passengers, and a few ceiling-mounted screens providing info on things like the trip itinerary – all of which is useful in a ride-sharing application.The Cruise Origin driverless car has been in the works for more than three years, and was designed from the ground-up as a completely autonomous, self-driving vehicle, as opposed to a vehicle retrofitted with autonomous technology, as we’ve seen previously with various Chevrolet Bolts.
(Via GMAuthority.)
“GM and Cruise are optimizing resources to focus development of our next autonomous vehicle on the next generation Bolt instead of the Origin,” a GM spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. “This shift creates a more cost-effective and scalable option for pursuing an autonomous future faster, while avoiding the uncertain path to regulatory compliance in the U.S. that could impede scaling of the Origin. The Origin does not include a steering wheel and brake pedals and uses campfire seating, a design that is currently not permitted.”
(Via Techcrunch.)
As far as I know, the earliest science fiction reference to a autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel comes from Paradise and Iron, by Miles Breuer, published in Amazing Stories Quarterly in 1930:
The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove! Ames tinkered around with something on the instrument board when he got in; and in a few moments we were off.
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