Tesla's Autopilot and General Motors' SuperCruise are some of the advances in automated driving, both considered offering Level 2 autonomy (SAE). Toyota joined them earlier this month with the Lexus Teammate tech on the Lexus LS 500h. Now, Ford is stepping into the scene by announcing its new BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system, which is set to roll out for selected models later this year.
True Hands-Free Driving Assist Technology
Ford's new BlueCruise system is the latest addition to the Co-Pilot360 suite of driver-assist technologies. Employing both advanced camera and radar-sensing technologies, BlueCruise builds on some of the current Co-Pilot360 systems -- Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop-and-Go, Lane Centering and Speed Sign Recognition -- to operate hands-free on prequalified sections of divided highways (dubbed as Hands-Free Blue Zones).
Just like Tesla Autopilot and GM’s SuperCruise, BlueCruise is an SAE Level 2 driver-assist technology. Unlike the AutoPilot, it doesn't require the driver's hands to remain steering wheel for a full hands-free experience. Also, Unlike SuperCruise, BlueCrusie tells the driver that the vehicle is in Hands-Free mode via text and blue lighting cues, which makes it effective even for drivers with color blindness.
Ensuring Driver's Eyes On The Road
Nonetheless, BlueCruise employs a driver-facing camera in the instrument cluster to monitor the driver's eye gaze and head position, thereby ensuring that his/her eyes are still focused on the road ahead. BlueCruise, however, features the Lane Centering mode that requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel.
110,000-Mile Trip To Fine-Tune Tech
To ensure that the system really works and to fine-tune the technology, Ford sent 10 BlueCruise-equipped test vehicles -- five F-150s and five all-electric Mustang Mach-Es -- to 110,000 miles of journey across the United States and Canada. This distance doesn't include the 500,000 miles spent on development testing.
The journey – covering 37 states and five Canadian provinces – was meant to challenge the BlueCruise tech against a wide range of road, weather and traffic conditions. Since Ford can't replicate various real-world conditions in a lab, they simply need to test BlueCruise on the road, ensuring that it works for drivers all across the continent.
Available First On 2021 F-150 and Mustang Mach-E
BlueCruise will be offered for additional charge on select 2021 F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E models with the available Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 Prep Package, as sent via over-the-air software updates later this year. Other Ford vehicles will also receive the system via over-the-air software updates.
Source: Ford