Cadillac Challenges Tesla with a Super Smart Self-Driving Sedan

When you think of a self-driving car,

the first thing that probably pops

into your head is that little pod car

Google engineers drive around Mountain View.

You know the one without a steering wheel or pedals?

Well, it's time to rethink that definition.

This is the 2018 Cadillac CT6 sedan

and it's the first car going on market

that actually encourages you

to take your hands off the wheel.

That's thanks to a feature Cadillac calls Super Cruise

which uses cameras and radars

to see the lane lines on the road and detect other cars.

Now there are plenty of cars on the market

most notable the Tesla Model S and Model X

that do that kind of thing for you.

Where Cadillac CT6 Super Cruise feature stands out is

in the human machine interface.

Cadillac spent years figuring out how to design a system

that not only does the driving for you

but makes it super clear when the car is in charge

and when it needs you as the driver

to take back control or even to pay attention.

It does that via a touch sensitive steering wheel

but more importantly an infrared camera mounted

on top of the steering wheel.

If it sees that you haven't been paying attention,

if you're looking to the left or to the right

or down at your phone more likely,

it's going to say hey now it's time for you

to look back at the road.

Because this is not a system that does all

of the driving for you.

If the lane lines disappear or traffic gets really crazy

or the sensors crap out all of a sudden,

it wants to make sure that you're ready

to take back control of the car.

Now this isn't a car that's going to drive you around town

or do all of the work for you.

It's a very specific use case of autonomy.

It only works on divided highways.

That means roads that Cadillac has mapped in detail

with light art technology

and where it knows you're not going to encounter things

like intersections, stop signs, pedestrians, or cyclists.

The idea is to keep the use case simple

and then as the technology develops expand it from there.

Now this car here is technically a prototype

which means that for the next couple of months

Cadillac engineers are going to be hunting down

those final bugs and doing the final calibrations

to make the driving as smooth as possible.

But expect to see it on dealer lots

by the end of 2017 and if you're lucky enough

to take one home you'll be doing that much less driving.

(upbeat music)