General Motors has revealed pictures and a video of its new invention, an innovative unmanned car that drives entirely without human control.
Versions of the car with driver controls are now undergoing a series of tests in San Francisco, California and Phoenix, Arizona.
The automotive company recently sent a petition to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asking for permission to deploy a vehicle that doesn't fulfill all federal safety requirements.
Imagine a world with no car crashes. By safely removing the steering wheel and pedals, the fourth generation self-driving @Cruise AV can help advance our vision of a world with zero crashes, emissions and congestion. https://t.co/Roz1nwOwIA pic.twitter.com/dbYttyZwKl
— General Motors (@GM) 12 января 2018 г.
READ MORE: VW Partners With Silicon Valley Company to Create Unmanned Cars by 2021
However, GM President Dan Ammann told The Verge GM that the company might "meet that standard in a different kind of way."
"A car without a steering wheel can't have a steering wheel airbag," he said. "What we can do is put the equivalent of the passenger side airbag on that side as well. So it's to meet the standards but meet them in a way that's different than what's exactly prescribed, and that's what the petition seeks to get approval for," Ammann said.
According to the GM head, drivers will be able to communicate with a call center if any problems emerge. They can also press special buttons that bring the vehicle to a halt and allow them to exit in case of an emergency.
Social media users reacted to the news differently.
Some were rather excited about the news.
#finally, this should have been here years ago… And btw… shouldn't the seats be facing the back seats? unless its for two people. I mean why would you wanna look ahead if you aren't driving.
— Ashhar (@SMAshhar_) 12 января 2018 г.
This is great news for the 10% of people who have monocular vision & no depth perception. I want one.
— Chris Staiti (@realStaiti) 13 января 2018 г.
Other believe that a car without human control is a "bad idea."
Terrible picture. No confidence in GM anyway… why would we believe in this?
— Kevin Sinclair (@coffeeman27) 12 января 2018 г.
That's an inherently BAD idea. Computers fail, whether the issue is hardware or software is moot. An emergency manual override is a must.
— Socal (@Socal_crypto) 12 января 2018 г.
…and it's still a GM car so WHEN it breaks down, how do you turn the wheels so you can push it out of traffic?
— Russell (@Raleigh_Born) 12 января 2018 г.
