General Motors Designed Way To Steer A Car With Your Eyes
General Motors has invented a technology that makes the phrase “look where you’re going” literal.
GM Global Technology Operations has filed for a patent on an “Eye Gaze Automotive Lane Change Activation” system for semi-autonomous vehicles.
GM’s Super Cruise hands-off highway driving system is able to steer a car within a lane and execute lane changes when the driver uses the turn signal. It uses rear-facing cameras and sensors to check for an opening in traffic, then moves over. It can also be set to do this automatically anytime there’s a slower car ahead of it.
It also has a camera that makes sure the driver is paying attention to the road ahead at all times, or else it will disengage and force them to take back manual control. The patent explains a different way to use this feature:
CLICK TO SEE MORE AMERICAN CARS AND AND RACING NEWS IN YOUR SEARCH RESULTS
“Based on the video stream series of eye gaze directions of the driver is estimated and associated with one or more target areas. The computing module controller then recognizes a predetermined transition sequence in the series of eye gaze directions of the driver between a first target area and a second target area, wherein the recognition of the predetermined transition sequence occurs within a first threshold amount of time. Based on the recognition of the predetermined transition sequence in the series of eye gaze directions between the first target area and the second target area, an initiation of a lane change of the vehicle on a roadway is triggered”
It provides several possible examples of the sequence, which could involve first looking at a side view mirror and then at the lane on that side. It also mentions the inclusion of a rejection sequence if the lane change is not wanted. The current version of Super Cruise requires the driver to tug at the steering wheel to reject an automatic lane change.
Patented ideas don’t always make it into production, but GM has said it plans to incrementally improve Super Cruise through over-the-air software updates and new generations of the system. A new generation that incorporates Lidar to allow the driver to take their eyes off the road in certain circumstances is scheduled to launch on the electric Cadillac Escalade IQ in 2028.
REVIEW: THE 2026 CADILLAC VISTIQ IS A VERY COMFORTABLE ELECTRIC CRUISER
Super Cruise only operates on roads that have been certified for the system. The network is periodically expanded and today covers more than 750,000 miles in the U.S. and Canada. According to General Motors, there has never been an accident associated with the system in the more than 700 million miles it has been used since it was first launched in 2017.
LISTEN TO OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CADILLAC F1 TEST DRIVER COLTON HERTA ON THE GAS PODCAST