Rivian rolls out new ‘Universal Hands-Free’ driving feature

Rivian’s caller second-generation R1 EVs are receiving an update today that brings the caller “Universal Hands-Free” driving software, which the institution revealed last week astatine its first-ever “Autonomy & AI Day.”

The institution says the caller diagnostic allows drivers to instrumentality their hands disconnected the instrumentality connected much than 3.5 cardinal miles of roads successful the United States and Canada, including a premix of highways and aboveground streets, arsenic agelong arsenic determination are disposable lane lines.

Owners volition inactive person to supervise the driving strategy and, crucially, it “will not halt oregon dilatory down for postulation lights oregon halt signs.” Universal Hands-Free volition besides not marque turns oregon travel navigation. (Rivian says the bundle volition re-engage if a operator uses their crook awesome and handles the crook manually.)

It’s an important measurement guardant for the company, which is aiming to marque its vehicles susceptible of afloat autonomy implicit the adjacent fewer years. But it besides comes with risk: Rival automakers with akin systems similar Tesla and Ford person dealt with aggregate crashes and deaths, galore related to drivers’ attraction straying from the operator assistance systems. Those crashes person led to investigations and lawsuits.

The updated bundle greatly expands the operator assistance capabilities that were antecedently disposable to Rivian owners. Before the update, Rivian’s hands-free driving strategy lone worked connected 135,000 miles of highways. Rivian elaborate plans astatine past week’s lawsuit to yet let its vehicles to thrust themselves from “point-to-point,” though that diagnostic volition not vessel until 2026.

Rivian is processing a caller autonomy machine with customized silicon for its R2 SUV (which debuts successful 2026) that, combined with a roof-mounted lidar sensor, volition beryllium susceptible of 1 time making the company’s vehicles afloat autonomous, CEO RJ Scaringe said past week.

The bundle update released Thursday brings a fewer different features not related to Rivian’s operator assistance system. There’s a caller mentation of its integer cardinal that owners of second-generation R1 vehicles tin adhd to integer wallets connected iPhones, Apple Watches, Google Pixels, and Samsung phones. Owners of quad-motor variants of the Gen 2 R1 EVs are besides getting the long-teased “Kick Turn” feature, arsenic good arsenic the “RAD Tuner” customizable thrust modes.