The race to autonomous vehicles seems to mean different things for different manufacturers, and even for different divisions/companies within an organization. Tesla wants to offer fully self-driving driving, without human assistance under most conditions on any road. Others (such as Cruise and Waymo) that offer driverless options usually operate within certain geographic areas (geofencing). Ford and GM both offer hands-free ADAS, but still require the driver to keep his eyes on the road and be ready to take over if the system tells him he’s lost.
But these more limited approaches do not exclude incremental improvements and advances in the future. Geofenced systems can expand their service areas. GM’s Supercruise and Ford’s Blue Cruise could expand to work on more highways. And other features we may not have thought of are definitely on the table.
We see that happening with Ford as it announced some new BlueCruise features earlier this month. The new BlueCruise 1.2* and Lincoln ActiveGlide 1.2 releases will feature lane-changing features, as well as other system updates to create a more humane driving experience. The new system will be available this fall on new factory vehicles, starting with the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
“We are investing in our ADAS team to continuously improve BlueCruise and ActiveGlide for our customers,” said Doug Field, Chief EV & Digital Systems Officer, Ford Model e. “The latest enhancements allow customers to change lanes with just one turn signal, and make hands-free driving more human by slowing down smoothly for turns and giving more space for large vehicles in adjacent lanes. These improvements are just the beginning of a constant journey to improve safety and, in the future, give customers valuable time.”
BlueCruise 1.2 and ActiveGlide 1.2 will include three new features:
- Lane Change Assist makes it easier for drivers to change lanes while using BlueCruise. When the driver taps the turn signal, the system automatically changes lanes. In addition, if a driver is following slow traffic, the system may suggest changing lanes.
- Predictive Speed Assist instantly and automatically adjusts speed as the driver approaches a sharp bend and warns the driver in advance when a speed change is imminent, letting them know why the vehicle is slowing down.
- In-Lane Repositioning makes hands-free driving on the road look more natural, keeping the car in its lane and gradually moving it away from vehicles in adjacent lanes – especially useful when you’re next to larger cars like semis.
In addition to making its Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) more humanistic, Ford says its engineers are constantly striving to deliver better visuals, feel and control. Ford is also committed to updating maps with wireless changes that identify pre-qualified sections of highways where BlueCruise can be used; as of now there are 130,000 miles that meet these qualifications.
Once a road has been qualified, BlueCruise equipped vehicles will detect the conditions and help confirm that lane lines are visible. The driver’s eyes must be on the road and other requirements for hands-free driving must be met before switching to hands-free driving mode. To indicate that this feature is now in hands-free mode, there are animated cluster transitions with text and blue light signals – both of which can be easily seen by people with color blindness.
A total of 75,000 Ford and Lincoln drivers will participate in BlueCruise and ActiveGlide, covering more than 16 million hands-free miles through August.
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