Every major automaker, at this point, has some sort of driver assistance features on their vehicles, they tend to offer varying degrees of sophistication.
And while Tesla has been most forthcoming about its goals to, at least eventually, make full self-driving a reality, one competitor - Rivian - is suggesting they’ve made some major progress as well.
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Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe recently shared an update on the EV maker’s driverless tech ambitions, revealing plans for what’s in store. These include, according to Scaringe, a hands-free feature set to hit the market this year as well as an “eyes-off” system by 2026.
According to Reuters, current Rivian Gen 2 vehicles come equipped with what’s called the "Rivian Autonomy Platform," – a driver assist system that still requires drivers to keep their attention on controlling the vehicle.
Scaringe says improving upon the technology will give drivers their “time back” and allow them to complete other tasks like sending emails – even reading books – while behind the wheel.
And while Scaringe contends Rivian is “hyper focused” on developing such systems, Reuters points out that there are no doubt regulatory hurdles down the line.
The NHTSA has opened probes focusing on several major autonomous driving units over the past year including Waymo and Zoox – even Ford, who is under fire over its BlueCruise hands-free driving after the feature was linked to several fatalities.
More recently, the NHTSA has targeted Tesla as well – launching a review of 2.6 million vehicles after reports of accidents involving a feature that allows users to operate their cars remotely.
Some experts believe this points to a trend towards stricter safety requirements, though it’s anybody’s guess at this point, with a new Administration in the mix.
Speaking of which, noted EV critic President Trump likely won’t be able to do much about a multi-billion-dollar loan from the Deptartment of Energy for Rivian to grow its business via a new plant in Georgia. Rivian and the agency finalized the deal just days before Trump took office.
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X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:0
00:00.119 --> 00:04.440
Every major automaker at this point has some
sort of driver assistance features on their
00:04.440 --> 00:07.949
vehicles, though they tend to offer varying
degrees of sophistication.
00:08.119 --> 00:13.199
And while Tesla has been most forthcoming about
its goals to at least eventually make full
00:13.199 --> 00:19.000
self-driving a reality, one competitor, Rivian,
is suggesting they've made some major progress
00:19.000 --> 00:22.559
as well.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe recently shared an
00:22.559 --> 00:24.959
update on the EV maker's driverless tech
ambitions.
00:25.488 --> 00:27.398
Revealing plans for what's in store.
00:27.607 --> 00:32.638
These include, according to Scari, a hands-free
feature set to hit the market this year,
00:32.928 --> 00:36.757
as well as an eyes off system by 2026.
00:37.007 --> 00:41.248
According to Reuters, current Rivian Gentoo
vehicles come equipped with what's called the
00:41.248 --> 00:45.917
Rivian Autonomy Platform, a driver assist
system that still requires drivers to keep
00:45.917 --> 00:49.967
their attention on controlling the vehicle.
Scari says improving upon the.
00:50.215 --> 00:55.085
will give drivers their time back and allows
them to complete other tasks like sending
00:55.085 --> 00:57.925
emails, even reading books while behind the
wheel.
00:58.096 --> 01:03.015
And while Scaring contends Rivian is
hyper-focused on developing such systems,
01:03.175 --> 01:06.966
Reuters points out that there are no doubt
regulatory hurdles down the line.
01:07.176 --> 01:12.896
The NHTSA has opened probes focusing on several
major autonomous driving units over the past
01:12.896 --> 01:15.055
year, including Waymo and Zos.
01:15.503 --> 01:20.503
Even Ford, who was under fire over its Blue
Crew's hands-free driving after the feature was
01:20.503 --> 01:22.213
linked to several fatalities.
01:22.503 --> 01:28.564
More recently, the NHTSA has targeted Tesla as
well, launching a review of 2.6 million
01:28.564 --> 01:33.903
vehicles after reports of accidents involving a
feature that allows users to operate their cars
01:33.903 --> 01:37.153
remotely.
Some experts believe this points to a trend
01:37.153 --> 01:40.103
toward stricter safety requirements, though
it's anybody's.
01:40.232 --> 01:43.582
Guess at this point with a new administration
in the mix.
01:44.192 --> 01:50.071
Speaking of which, noted EV critic President
Trump likely won't be able to do much about a
01:50.071 --> 01:55.152
multi-billion dollar loan from the Department
of Energy for Rivian to grow its business via a
01:55.152 --> 01:56.382
new plant in Georgia.
01:56.711 --> 02:02.101
Rivian and the agency finalized the deal just
days before Trump took office.
02:02.311 --> 02:04.991
I'm Anna Wells, and this is manufacturing now.
