Robotics Business Review

Cruise Origin Autonomous Vehicle Challenges Transportation Paradigm

Organization: Cruise LLC
Country: United States
State: CA
Website: www.getcruise.com
Year Founded: 2013
Number of Employees: 1,400
Innovation Class: Technology & Services Innovation
Innovation Subclass: Product Introduction

GM unit Cruise said its Origin is a 'production-ready' driverless vehicle designed for ride-sharing services.

Description:

Electric and self-driving cars are often envisioned as more efficient replacements for conventional gasoline-powered, human-driven automobiles. Delivery and ride-sharing services are among the applications, but what if a vehicle was designed from the ground up for a different model of personal transportation?

Cruise, which General Motors Co. acquired in 2016, has been working on autonomous vehicles to improve safety, reduce the environmental impact of transportation, and mitigate urban traffic congestion. In January 2020, Cruise unveiled Origin, a new approach to transportation combining elements of rides on demand with an electrical and fully autonomous vehicle.

The Origin has a modular design with fewer moving parts for a longer lifespan. It is also intended to be comfortable for up to six passengers facing one another. The shuttlebus-like Origin has no steering wheel and was developed in cooperation with GM and Honda Motor Co.


Analysis:

Cruise executives said they expect Origin to surpass human performance levels.

Other technology companies and automakers are pursuing self-driving vehicles, but none has so directly challenged the traditional model of individual ownership. GM said it is investing $2.2 billion in its Detroit-Hamtramck plant in Michigan to manufacture Cruise Origin.

While it’s too soon to say which autonomous vehicles will be technologically viable or commercially successful, Cruise’s Origin is a bold step toward a new mode of transport. -- Eugene Demaitre

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