Honda Will Use GM's Self-Driving Technology, Invest $750 Million In Cruise Startup

Honda announced today that it is investing $750 million in Cruise, the self-driving car startup whose majority shareholder is General Motors. The automotive company is also planning to invest $2 billion over the next 12 years to develop and manufacture self-driving cars based on Cruise's software. Ars Technica reports: Honda has been working on autonomous vehicles since at least 2015, but progress has been slow. In 2015, the company said it hoped to have a partially self-driving car ready by 2020 but that a fully self-driving car won't be ready until the 2030s. In 2017, Honda said it was aiming to offer freeway-only self-driving capabilities in 2020 and then reach "level 4" capability -- cars that are fully self-driving, but only in certain locations and weather conditions -- by 2025. That compares unfavorably to Waymo, which is planning to launch a level 4 taxi service this year. Cruise is aiming to launch a level 4 taxi service next year. Honda's new plan is to build self-driving cars based on Cruise's hardware and software designs. So far, Cruise has focused on modifying the Chevy Bolt for autonomous capabilities. But this new Honda vehicle will be designed from the ground up for autonomous operation.

Sometimes they struggle in intersections

[crgrace]

I live in a pretty busy part of San Francisco and see Cruise vehicles all the time. A couple of months ago a homeless "adventurer" (as in the young guy with a skateboard and a pitbull who camps out next to the Muni station, rather than the middle aged guy with a shopping cart muttering to himself) decided he wanted to f with the car at a big intersection. He stood in front of it and spread his arms and legs out as if he were a big target. The car pretty much freaked out make tiny, halting movements, until a

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[LynnwoodRooster]

Nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure?

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[gl4ss]

well.

they'll deal with it with "certain locations" not including places where they get robbed for parts, wheels and such. herding cars. think about it, you can learn to herd them to a side alley and rob it for parts and nobody will care.

is waymo really saying they'll do fully autonomous taxis? whats their "certain locations" - airport parking lots? it just sounds so much bullshit. even 2025 sounds bullshit.

I live in Thailand and 2090 is optimistic for "certain locations" to be included into Thailand. with a

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[novakyu]

Sounds like overcorrection [slashdot.org].

Reliability....

[Luthair]

Or maybe Honda has shipped millions of vehicles while still known for reliability and they realize that shipping a half baked product which occasionally runs over a hobo isn't an acceptable product. Does that compare favourably for the silicon valley circle jerk?

Rushing it for the Olympics

[Anonymous Coward]

Too many companies are rushing out projects before the Olympics because all regulatory bodies are turning a blind eye.
All those tests with a self-driving taxi in Tokyo were a complete scam with a whole enigeering team sitting in some control room, ready to press the brakes.

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[gl4ss]

you can't have autonomous for decade or few decades in Hondas main markets.

This autonomous driving race is stupid waste of money. You can't fundamentally make assists into a good enough autonomous driver. the assists are feasible but they're assists.

Elon sold his assists as autopilot with promises of being autonomous ready EVEN THOUGH THEY DON'T FUCKING KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AUTONOMOUS READY(but he needed some more funding so whatever, sell promises to investors)

Self Driving Cars Solve No Society Problem

[BrendaEM]

Self driving cars have not evolved to not do stupid things such as not hit pedestrians, parked cars, and pedestrians.
Drivers need jobs.
Many people like driving cars.
If there is a real war, GPS satellites will likely be destroyed, leaving an entire nation stranded and unable to produce product.