"Tour Guide" Mode Thoughts

In an interview it was mentioned about a guided tour mode for places like national parks. The vehicle could autonomously drive while providing information about your surroundings. (in interview here, starting at 9:18)

I think this is one of the coolest and most 'out there' features mentioned so far. Basically RJ mentions a "Jurassic Park" style tour within the comfort of your truck.


National parks are really cool and I'd definitely use the feature, but I would really love to see this expanded. Imagine a guided road trip along Route 66 where your vehicle takes you from landmark to landmark (and appropriately stopping for charging stations along the way) and explains some history. Or even just a local tour of historical cities around the country. It could be the ultimate road trip vehicle on your way to outdoor destinations around the country.

I could see something like this being possible almost anywhere with the addition of crowd-sourced data. A local tour-guide could mark locations on a map and provide commentary that you could then download to your car. Find adventures via a phone app (along with a ratings system to surface the best tours) and they'll be ready for you to experience the next time you go out for a drive.


I'm looking forward to learning about what other cool tricks these vehicles have to offer.

The key phrase is at 9:03 "It's a Level 3 feature" and really what you are describing is more Level 4. It's going to be a good long while before even Level 3 is available.

Audi Cadillac Tesla all have level 3.

Talking to RJ about this at the Overland Expo West, you can also post your own “digital trail” as he stated so that you can share your favorite fishing hole or other great trail you would like others to see too.

I agree that this is a cool feature!

Tesla will advance to Level 3 when I can take my hands off the wheel.

Cactusone said:

Audi Cadillac Tesla all have level 3.

Click to expand...

Nope. Even Tesla is considered level 2.5. There are no full level 3 available for public use at the moment.
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/self-driving-car-guide-autonomous-explanation/

I agree with godfodder0901 and Jared's post. If I recall my conversations with RJ at Overland Expo West, the Rivian simply have more cameras and technology (LIDAR, RADAR, etc...) to deliver a Level 3, this applies more on the digital trails Rivian is mapping and not necessarily in city driving --- RJ was very cautious of what he said around Level 3---I think the Rivian will be close to a full Level 3 but I am not sure. RJ believes and demonstrates this when he chatted with us, it is all about education.