The Jan. 6. story has the correct second paragraph. Ultra Cruise is intended to work in 95% of driving situations, and not 95%.

By Stephen Nellis

(Reuters) – General Motors (NYSE) said Thursday that a trio Qualcomm chips (NASDAQ:) Inc would power “Ultra Cruise”, a driver assistance feature for a Cadillac sedan.

Qualcomm chips will power the Celestiq all-electric sedan, which is the company’s flagship model. According to the automaker, Ultra Cruise will enable hands-free driving on freeways and surface roads to cover up to 95% more driving situations in America and Canada than GM’s Super Cruise that is only available on highways.

You still need to pay attention because it’s a controlled system. However, what we are doing is giving drivers a hands-free experience within a larger area,” explained Jason Ditman chief engineer at Ultra Cruise.

The system’s heart will consist of a computer roughly the same size as two laptops stacked together. GM will supply the software, while Qualcomm provides key chips – two processor chip and one designed for specific functions.

This deal marks a significant milestone for Qualcomm which is the dominant chip manufacturer for mobile phone chips and has been expanding its product line. Qualcomm already has many deals in place with automakers for chips to support infotainment centres and 5G connectivity. However, GM was the first to adopt Qualcomm’s “Snapdragon Rider” chips to enable self-driving capabilities.

Qualcomm competes against Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:) Intel Corp Mobileye, (NASDAQ.) will make agreements with automakers to sell self-driving technology chips. Automakers must ensure that the chips are energy efficient. Electric vehicles have limited battery life and computers need to compete with each other for power.

Qualcomm made chips that are used in phones and has tried to attract automakers by using its experience with smartphones. GM’s Ditman wouldn’t disclose the power consumption of the Ultra Cruise computer, however the chip is air-cooled. This means that the chips are likely to consume less power than other offerings which require liquid cooling.

Ditman stated, “We are very aware of our power consumption.”