Lucid's Level 2 Hands-free Driver Assist Is Finally Coming This Month

Lucid Motors

When it comes to afloat self-driving cars, we're dealing pinch a two-horse race: Waymo vs. Tesla. And successful that competition, Waymo has a immense lead, acknowledgment to a dense finance successful Lidar, aliases laser radars. Tesla is relying connected cameras and computing powerfulness to play drawback up. Importantly, some companies are aiming to found profitable robotaxi services. Meanwhile, different automakers simply want to heighten their driver-assist features, and Lucid is now doing conscionable that, adding hands-free capacity to its DreamDrive Pro system.

A batch of carmakers are contented to amended their driver-assist suite without taking nan plunge connected afloat autonomy. They aren't successful nan robotaxi game, and their nonsubjective is fundamentally to enactment competitive. For Lucid, its luxurious Air sedan and Gravity SUV need a hands-free option, arsenic good arsenic a lane-change assistance feature. According to Lucid, owners of nan Air will person entree to nan improvements arsenic an over-the-air update connected July 30, and it's coming to nan Gravity later this year.

Lucid Motors

These types of Level 2 driver-assist technologies are sounded arsenic stress-relievers alternatively than driver-eliminators. It's champion to see them arsenic a shape of precocious adaptive cruise power that allows nan driver to return their hands disconnected nan wheel, alteration lanes without actively steering, and taxable themselves to attraction monitoring. Let your eyes wander, and nan conveyance will punctual you to get those hands backmost connected nan wheel.

Cool stuff, but not cheap. DreamDrive Premium is modular connected each Air trims; going to Pro is $2,500 much (the objection being nan fully kitted $250,000 Air Sapphire). Tesla's "Autopilot" pinch "Full-Self-Driving" (FSD) is an $8,000 add-on astatine purchase, aliases a $99-per-month subscription if you want it later, and it doesn't really licence hands-free driving. I've ever been connected nan obstruction astir whether these systems are worthy it. In a General Motors conveyance equipped pinch Super Cruise, I've decidedly de-stressed while emotion wholly safe. In a Tesla, I've had much uneven experiences, though it's been a while since I sampled nan latest and top that "Autopilot"/FSD delivers. Lucid's strategy is surely comprehensive, including lidar, radar, visible-light cameras, surround-view cameras, and ultrasonic sensors, according to nan company.

Lucid Motors

A startup for illustration Lucid is nether immense unit to support gait pinch nan remainder of nan manufacture while besides presenting itself arsenic an EV innovator. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are becoming ubiquitous and are a marker of really cars are becoming much futuristic. They aren't a last-century business technology.

So Lucid's customers expect that an EV costing much than $100,000 (for nan Air Grand Touring trim) is going to beryllium state-of-the-art, moreover if nan institution needs to negociate nan galore challenges of creating a carmaker from scratch. Do customers deliberation their Lucid needs to do everything a Tesla can? Maybe not. But arsenic nan institution noted successful its property merchandise announcing nan caller features, it wants to push nan communicative of its vehicles being "software defined." It besides wants to clasp an autonomous-mobility subplot.

On nan different hand, it's awesome to spot Lucid continuing to spell aft Tesla astatine each opportunity and striving to support technological parity. The cheapest Gravity SUV is $80,000, truthful Lucid isn't encumbered by having to make each determination based connected affordability. What we person present are unabashedly premium EVs. They really should person each disposable high-tech doorbell and whistle, moreover if afloat autonomy isn't rather yet successful nan picture.