Cruise, the autonomous vehicle unit of General Motors, has announced plans to deploy a small fleet of manually driven mapping vehicles in Sunnyvale and Mountain View, California, as a precursor to supervised testing of up to five self-driving cars this fall. This initiative follows nearly a year of regulatory scrutiny after a serious incident involving one of its robotaxis dragging a pedestrian in San Francisco, which led to the suspension of its driverless operations. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has stated that these current operations will not carry public passengers and that Cruise's driverless deployment permits remain suspended. Cruise emphasizes that the manual mapping vehicles are purely for research and development. Local officials in Sunnyvale and Mountain View have expressed support for Cruise's return, highlighting the company's commitment to safe operations. Despite plans for testing, the timeline for reinstating full driverless services in California remains uncertain.