• Rivian will launch a hands-free driver-assistance feature to its vehicles in the next “several weeks.”
• Rivian founder and CEO R.J. Scaringe made the announcement on the company’s earnings call on Thursday. 
• That will be followed by a hands-free, eyes-free system for the highway coming next year, he said. 

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Rivian’s hands-off driver-assistance system is coming to the R1T pickup and R1S SUV soon. 

“We have a hands-off highway feature that we’re going to be launching here very soon, you know, within the next several weeks,” Rivian founder and CEO R.J. Scaringe said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday. 

He said a hands-off and eyes-off system will launch in 2026 for highway use only. Gradually, Rivian will allow the system to function on more roads. 

“We have an eyes-off feature that we’re going to be launching for highway functionality in 2026. And the number of roads and types of conditions we’ll allow our hands-off, eyes-off features to operate, continue to expand beyond that once we get that highway eyes-off feature launched,” he said. 

Currently, Rivians come with an adaptive cruise control and lane-centering suite that’s common on new vehicles today. When switched on, the system automates steering, acceleration and braking to keep a Rivian centered in its lane and match the flow of traffic. It will also execute lane changes when prompted by the turn-signal stalk. Today, drivers need to keep their hands on the wheel and pay attention to the road. 

Photo by: Rivian

The Rivian California Dune Edition R1T.

That will change over time, Scaringe said. The new Rivian Autonomy Platform found in second-generation R1T and R1S models provides a lot of “headroom” for automated-driving features to get more capable, he said. The system has a more powerful computer dedicated to driver assistance and an improved array of sensors. 

Going hands-free on certain highways will put Rivian in the same league as General Motors’ Super Cruise, Ford’s BlueCruise and similar convenience features from a few other manufacturers. Those all allow drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel under certain highway conditions but still require full attention. Drivers need to be ready to take over if the lane lines disappear or in a confusing construction zone, for example. You are still legally driving when using these systems, and therefore always responsible for ensuring safety.

Photo by: Rivian

Systems that are both hands-free and eyes-free are far more rare, but that’s something automakers are working toward. These systems are called “Level 3” in SAE parlance if they allow for eyes-off driving under certain conditions, but can still ask you to take back control with a warning. Mercedes-Benz sells the only such system in the U.S. in the form of Drive Pilot. It allows drivers to take their attention fully off the road in traffic jams on certain Nevada and California highways, and only in good weather conditions. 

Mercedes plans to expand Drive Pilot to more roads and conditions over time. Rivian could start with similar guardrails and expand from there. 

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