"The company says the new feature allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel on more than 3.5 million miles of roads in the United States and Canada, including a mix of highways and surface streets, as long as there are visible lane lines. Owners will still have to supervise the driving system and, crucially, it "will not stop or slow down for traffic lights or stop signs." Universal Hands-Free will also not make turns or follow navigation."
"It's an important step forward for the company, which is aiming to make its vehicles capable of full autonomy over the next few years. But it also comes with risk: Rival automakers with similar systems like Tesla and Ford have dealt with multiple crashes and deaths, many related to drivers' attention straying from the driver assistance systems. Those crashes have led to investigations and lawsuits."
Rivian released a software update adding Universal Hands-Free to second-generation R1 EVs, enabling drivers to remove hands on over 3.5 million miles of U.S. and Canadian roads with visible lane lines. Drivers must supervise; the system will not stop or slow for traffic lights or stop signs, will not make turns, and will not follow navigation. The update expands prior capability from 135,000 highway miles. Rivian plans point-to-point autonomy by 2026 and is developing a custom autonomy computer and roof-mounted lidar for the R2 SUV debuting in 2026. Similar systems from Tesla and Ford have been tied to crashes and deaths, prompting investigations and lawsuits and underscoring driver attention risks.
Read at TechCrunch
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