Rivian to Launch Hands-Free Semi-Autonomous Driving Subscription, AI Assistant
Key Points
- Rivian is calling its new hands-free semi-autonomous driving subscription Autonomy+.
- Owners can subscribe to the tech for $50 a month or pay $2,500 for full access.
- The electric vehicle automaker is also releasing additional driving tech, as well as an artificial intelligence assistant.
Rivian is getting into the hands-free semi-autonomous driving game and leveraging AI in its software-defined vehicles. The EV automaker held an Autonomy & AI Day to showcase some of the driving tech it’s been working on, as well as an AI assistant.
Related: $45,000 Rivian R2 to Get Launch Edition, Bidirectional Charging
Rivian will be using AI in a lidar/radar suite that will help improve self-driving technology. Its next EV, the R2, will come equipped with a full suite of lidar and radar features, including 11 65-megapixel cameras, five radar sensors and one lidar. And before you assume the exterior of the R2 will be covered in wonky-looking cameras and sensors, think again. Rivian says that lidar technology has come a long way in the last decade and is now smaller and compact enough to be better integrated into the vehicle’s design.
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Hands-Free Driving Tech
- Takeaway: Rivian is introducing new hands-free driving technology, including Universal Hands-Free and the subscription-based Autonomy+.
The big news is the introduction of new hands-free driving technology to take on GM’s Super Cruise, Ford’s BlueCruise and Tesla’s Full Self-Driving. The first, called Universal Hands-Free, will be made available via an over-the-air update. This update will allow owners to operate their vehicles with hands-free driving on over 3.5 million miles of roads in North America. That dwarfs BlueCruise’s 130,000 miles and Super Cruise’s 600,000 miles, as well as Rivian’s own Enhanced Highway Assist, which works on 135,000 miles of roads. Rivian says Universal Hands-Free will be able to be used on roads with clearly painted lines.
Rivian also rolled out a new semi-autonomous driving subscription. Called Autonomy+, owners will have to part with $50 a month or a one time fee of $2,500 to access the technology. Autonomy+ will include the aforementioned hands-free driving assist, Lane Change on Command (a feature that will allow the vehicle to change lanes when the time is right once you activate the turn signal) and Auto Parking for parallel and perpendicular parking. Autonomy+ will also include a feature called On-Ramp to Off-Ramp, which, according to Rivian, will let you “merge onto the highway and your vehicle will follow your route, taking interchanges until you exit.” Autonomy+ will be available in February 2026 and will be free for all Gen 2 Rivian owners until March 2026.
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An AI Helper
- Takeaway: Rivian’s new AI assistant, Rivian Assistant, will roll out to vehicles in early 2026.
Rivian is also set to introduce an AI assistant. Called Rivian Assistant, it’s your typical AI chatbot assistant that’s activated by a steering-wheel-mounted button or by saying “Hey Rivian.” Rivian Assistant can do things such as summarize your meeting schedule, rearrange said schedule, control vehicle features, tell you how much battery range will be left at a preset destination and even help you find a more efficient driving route to your destination. These features will start to roll out to Rivian R1 vehicles early next year. In the upcoming R2, Rivian Assistant will be able to run offline.
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