Rivian Driver+ vs Ford BlueCruise vs Tesla AutoPilot: What are expectations at launch for Driver+

[BigE]

As we have all witnessed via social media, and some in-person, Rivian have been driving around the country for the past 1-2 years, many with lidar on the roof, it looks like they have been working hard on the Driver+ for some time. Sandy Munro just took a drive in a Ford Mach-E with a Ford Engineer. From watching this, BlueCruise looks like a fairly basic/common cruise control for the year 2021, nothing outstanding, and definitely years behind Tesla. My brother and I just recently did a 3,500-mile road trip in Model Y and 90% of the trip, the Y drove on Auto-Pilot with little to no intervention, even going through the Mountains in TN which BlueCruise can definitely not do. For myself, I really enjoy driving, but on long trips, Auto-Pilot does help reduce stress/fatigue in my experience.

What are your expectations from Rivian's Driver+ at launch and then down the road?

Sponsored

 

[sub]

Do we know if Rivian is using in-house software or if they are licensing it from Mobileye/someone else?

I think that any in-house solution is unlikely to be nearly as good as Tesla's Autopilot. It took Tesla years and a huge amount of money to get their in-house autopilot to where it is today. Even as deep as Rivian's investor's pockets are I don't believe they have had enough time/money to replicate Autopilot.

If it is Mobileye, I think it could be quite competitive with Tesla's current offerings.

Personally, I will be very disappointed if is not as capable as Tesla's AP1 (from 2014, made by Mobileye) which by most reviews was pretty good even by today's standards.

 

[SeaGeo]

At the moment I'm assuming it's basically blue cruise.

 

[TessP100D]

Why does it matter?

seriously, self driving cars will never be self driving.

heck, I love driving and I don’t need some software application making life and death decisions for me. No thanks.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Why does it matter?

seriously, self driving cars will never be self driving.

heck, I love driving and I don’t need some software application making life and death decisions for me. No thanks.

It matters because it increases safety and reduces fatigue.

I use Pilot Assist (Volvo) extensively and it’s fantastic. I won’t buy a new vehicle without something similar.

 

[888tom888]

I have Tesla M3P with full self driving and to say its self driving is a joke!. The vehicle needs constant diligence and awareness. It asks for permission to do a lane change. Why it decides it needs to lane change is beyond me as I drive with a Lead battery foot and as often as possible in the fast lane. It still cannot drive on city streets. I am not one of the blessed that has the 10.? beta. So all of those Utube videos are not in the real world. For me, self drive is great on the drive to and from work (30 miles one way) and is amazing for stop and go traffic which to me is its greatest value. Full self drive for now is a thing in movies only. Or for idiots that fall asleep at the wheel or are smoking crack.

 

[BigE]

I have Tesla M3P with full self driving and to say its self driving is a joke!. The vehicle needs constant diligence and awareness. It asks for permission to do a lane change. Why it decides it needs to lane change is beyond me as I drive with a Lead battery foot and as often as possible in the fast lane. It still cannot drive on city streets. I am not one of the blessed that has the 10.? beta. So all of those Utube videos are not in the real world. For me, self drive is great on the drive to and from work (30 miles one way) and is amazing for stop and go traffic which to me is its greatest value. Full self drive for now is a thing in movies only. Or for idiots that fall asleep at the wheel or are smoking crack.

I was talking about Tesla's AutoPilot, not FSD, and looking at what Ford has with BlueCruise doesn't look as good as AP from 2013. With all the hardware Rivian has put into the R1's, I'm hoping they have been working on the software too match.

 

[TessP100D]

It matters because it increases safety and reduces fatigue.

I use Pilot Assist (Volvo) extensively and it’s fantastic. I won’t buy a new vehicle without something similar.

No it doesn’t.

Tesla or any other company will never get to level 5 approvals. Never.

anything short of level 5 is just marketing BS.

I hope you or anyone else’s doesn’t have to live with the realization of killing a kid while you thought it was safe to drive a vehicle without paying attention.

 

[Trekkie]

Why does it matter?

seriously, self driving cars will never be self driving.

heck, I love driving and I don’t need some software application making life and death decisions for me. No thanks.

I love driving too but after 700 miles towards the 'fun' destination it's nice to not have to keep it in-between the lines constantly, and adjust the speed all the time because idiots can't seem to maintain a speed in front of you on the interstate. It made a significant difference on my energy level and desire to interact with people to have something keeping me in the middle of the lane and slowing down gradually if someone comes into the left lane a mile over the limit.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

No it doesn’t.

Tesla or any other company will never get to level 5 approvals. Never.

anything short of level 5 is just marketing BS.

I hope you or anyone else’s doesn’t have to live with the realization of killing a kid while you thought it was safe to drive a vehicle without paying attention.

Woah, you need to calm the F down, dude.

NEVER did I say I don't pay attention. I am in full control of the vehicle and I pay attention when using driving assistance technologies. But it still eases the burden and reduces driver fatigue. And Pilot Assist doesn't claim to be anything more than a Level 2 system. Not sure where you got that Level 5 B.S. from.

The danger comes when people misuse driver assistance technology -- a risky behavior that Tesla encourages with their inappropriate and misleading claims. Meanwhile, most other manufacturers are quite conservative when describing the capabilities of their systems.

 

[TessP100D]

Woah, you need to calm the F down, dude.

NEVER did I say I don't pay attention. I am in full control of the vehicle and I pay attention when using driving assistance technologies. But it still eases the burden and reduces driver fatigue. And Pilot Assist doesn't claim to be anything more than a Level 2 system. Not sure where you got that Level 5 B.S. from.

The danger comes when people misuse driver assistance technology -- a risky behavior that Tesla encourages with their inappropriate and misleading claims. Meanwhile, most other manufacturers are quite conservative when describing the capabilities of their systems.

I understand about all the bs claims crazy Elon says.

it’s all bs.

adaptive cruise control is pretty good.
FSD.
No way. Ever

 

[kylealden]

I understand about all the bs claims crazy Elon says.

it’s all bs.

adaptive cruise control is pretty good.
FSD.
No way. Ever

Nobody here is talking about FSD. Modern autopilot systems are just a very nice extension of TACC which makes a lot of sense. I am as much of a self-driving skeptic as anyone but I also use Autopilot in my Model Y extensively. As others have noted, when used properly, it reduces fatigue and helps improve reaction times and aid alertness. You can believe Elon is full of shit about self driving (I certainly do) and still recognize the merits of driving aids.

To the original question, I'd be super happy if Rivian had a basic highway mode analogous to Tesla's (non-FSD) Autopilot - basically just fancy TACC, lane-keeping, and obstacle avoidance. From a sensor perspective, the vehicle should be more than capable, and that particular software domain is pretty well understood. A good speed limit database (and/or visual recognition) is another thing Tesla does pretty well that I hope Rivian follows.

I'd much prefer if it could work on arbitrary roads (e.g. not gated to freeways), since systems that require mapping are thus never fully up to date. I don't care about lane changing, automatic exits, city driving, etc. - in fact I'd prefer Rivian avoid the FSD quagmire altogether.

 

[EVSport7]

To the original question, I'd be super happy if Rivian had a basic highway mode analogous to Tesla's (non-FSD) Autopilot - basically just fancy TACC, lane-keeping, and obstacle avoidance. From a sensor perspective, the vehicle should be more than capable, and that particular software domain is pretty well understood. A good speed limit database (and/or visual recognition) is another thing Tesla does pretty well that I hope Rivian follows.

n fact I'd prefer Rivian avoid the FSD quagmire altogether.

Yes and yes. Just gimme an easy to use version of those 3 things, I feel like most companies give that to you nowadays. I really hope they don't get tempted into going down the FSD rabbit hole and milking customers for years

 

[Kickaha]

That flashing screen to take over manual control was driving me nuts - and thats just from watching the video. UGGGGGH!

IT BURNS!!! MAKE IT STOP!!

 

[Trandall]

No it doesn’t.

Tesla or any other company will never get to level 5 approvals. Never.

anything short of level 5 is just marketing BS.

I hope you or anyone else’s doesn’t have to live with the realization of killing a kid while you thought it was safe to drive a vehicle without paying attention.

I disagree that anything short of level 5 has no value. Tens of thousands of lives per year can be saved with even level 3. Secondly I would like to note that humans can not match the level of safety we are asking of automated systems at level 4 or 5 either so keep that in mind. Would it be better to have one family member killed by a flawed automated driving system or two family members killed by a flawed human driver? Not saying we are their yet but at some point that will be the question at hand.
That being said I will be disappointed If we don't get something at least as good as GM Super Cruise.

Sponsored