Auto Car News Video: Cadillac XTS to feature safety tech developed from autonomous vehicles

Five years ago, GM engineers, a variety of partner companies, and Carnegie Mellon University reinforced a Chevrolet Tahoe that autonomously traversed 60 miles of urban traffic in less than six hours, taking home the DARPA Urban Challenge win. Later this year, some of that technology will make its way to production in the 2013 Cadillac XTS.

The list of active safety systems in the XTS is easily on par with what the Germans offer, including adaptive cruise control, intelligent brake assist, forward hit alert, automatic hit preparation, lane departure warning, blind spot alert and a heads up display (hit the jump for the full, exhaustive list).

The incorporation of entirely these systems is something GM is calling “sensor fusion,” which combines multiple inputs and serious processing power to, in the words of Bakhtiar Litkouhi, GM Research and Development lab group manager for perception and vehicle control systems, “provide advisory, warning, and control interventions to help drivers invalidate collisions and save lives.”

It’s also the first step in bringing the two semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles to market, something Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are entirely actively working on.

Get a summary primer on the philosophy behind sensor fusion in the video and accompanying release under the fold.