The head of Tesla, Elon Musk) has been feeding the audience with promises to offer a “full autopilot” by promises by the end of each next year, but the Rivian startup leadership made the appropriate statement only this week, promising this year to free the owners of electric vehicles of this brand from the need to stay from the need to stay behind the wheel, and in the next – look at the road.
Image source: Rivian
Nowadays, the work of many active driver assistance systems is based on monitoring the driver’s posture and behavior, as well as the resistance force on the steering wheel. Road safety regulations in most countries around the world require that the driver keep his hand on the steering wheel and keep his eyes on the road at all times. These requirements are barriers to bringing systems to market that allow drivers to completely take their eyes off the road. Regulators will have to develop many rules defining the conditions for the safe use of fully automatic cars on public roads.
It is all the more amazing that the community of the owners of Rivian electric vehicles report the statements of the founder of the company Robert Skaringe, which was made by him at the opening of the next demonstration hall of the car manufacturer in San Francisco. This year, the company intends to offer its customers an active assistance system for a driver who does not require holding their hands on the steering wheel. Next year, she is ready to offer such a system, which, moreover, will not demand to constantly look at the road.
It does not explain which owners of which Rivian electric vehicles will receive such opportunities. The fact is that R1S crossovers and R1T pickups, produced before the end of 2024, belonged to the first -generation platform, which is functionally outdated and may not provide appropriate opportunities. Second -generation machines were radically processed from the point of view of hardware and related software, so they remain the main candidates for the implementation of “blind and armless” driving. In the second half of next year, Rivian is preparing to represent electric cars of the R2 family, which will also be able to offer the functions declared by the founder. But even if there is a technical ability to implement the intended, Rivian will have to obtain the permission of the US authorities to distribute the relevant systems in the market.