GM’s Ultra Cruise will use radar, camera, and lidar to enable hands-free driving

General Motors’ next-generation Ultra Cruise driver-assist system will come equipped with lidar as well as several other high-tech sensors designed to enable hands-free driving and cover “95 percent” of driving maneuvers, the automaker announced today. GM first announced Ultra Cruise during an investor event in 2021, describing it as a massive leap over the company’s Super Cruise system, which allows for hands-free driving on mapped divided highways. In contrast, Ultra Cruise will cover “95 percent” of driving scenarios on 2 million miles of roads in the US, the company said. The company is also developing the Ultra Cruise software in-house, using its own team of engineers and coders. That said, GM intends Ultra Cruise to be its answer to other current Level 2 systems, like Tesla’s Full Self-Driving beta system.