What is Blue Cruise, Ford's new technology for hands-free driving, and how does it work?
Ford will develop a new hands-free driver assistance system that will seek to provide greater comfort, but at the same time greater safety, for Mustang Mach-E and Ford F-150 owners.
Recently, car companies have introduced various types driver assistance systems, but let's be clear: hands-free driving is a big deal. This is one of the reasons why General Motors' Super Cruise is praised by industry critics and consumers alike.
But, as expected, Ford he will not sit idly by and it is time for him to develop his own competitor, and the brand will do it this fall with new set that calls BlueCruise. It will initially be available as an upgrade for existing Mustang Mach-E and F-150 owners., some other models released later this year will ship with firmware from the factory.
What is Blue Cruise?
BlueCruise is an evolution of the Ford Co-Pilot360 that adds features such as adaptive cruise control with intelligent stop/start, lane centering and speed sign recognition.
How does it work?
Mach-E and F-150 drivers will enjoy more than 100,000 highway miles where they can take their hands off the wheel and let their Ford drive. It is called blue hands-free zones and have already been surveyed by Ford GPS Mapping System. When vehicles enter one of these zones, a blue indicator light will illuminate in the instrument cluster and a message will appear in the driver information display to let you know you are ready to take the reins..
BlueCruise uses advanced cameras and radar sensors to adapt to changing road conditions. Ford notes that this is an SAE level 2 system similar and Super cruise from GM, although the former does not allow hands-free driving. Despite this, BlueCruise can negotiate curves on qualified interstates and adjust speed to maintain a constant distance between the vehicle and those in front of it.
Features like Lane Change Assist will apparently launch later, in which case owners will be able to receive updates over the air, according to Ford. This will allow drivers to control gear changes or overtaking maneuvers by simply activating the flasher. Another luxury, Predictive Speed Assist, will be released later and will anticipate turns in the road, slowing the car down for a smoother, more natural ride.
As many miles of the highway become hands-free blue zones, Over-the-air upgrades will be available to owners. so they can empower their vehicles from their garage.
Ford engineers have already thoroughly tested BlueCruise. The latest phase of development began after 10 vehicles, including five Mustang Mach-Es and five F-150s, traveled more than 110,000 37 miles across the states and five Canadian provinces. Ford touted it as the "Mother of All Road Trips" in a press release, and that seems to be good proof that BlueCruise works as they say it does.
Howe Tai-Tang, Ford's director of operations and product platform, mentioned that these tests were done because there are situations that "simply cannot be replicated in the lab." As we saw earlier with the first layer 2 ADAS kits, you're right, and it's not just about fancy technologies that are fun to talk about on the internet. This is due to a decrease driver fatigue, which BlueCruise also monitors with driver-facing cameras to monitor gaze and head position.
"I travel long distances quite often, whether it's to Boston or Florida to visit family or friends, and I usually get mentally exhausted when I drive this far," he explained. Alexandra Taylor, BlueCruise Feature Development Engineer. It is clear that when I use BlueCruise, long trips are not so tiring for me,” he added.
How can you add BlueCruise to your F-150 or Mach-E?
Now, in order to add BlueCruise to the vehicle, a few items need to be installed. F-150 visa., for example, must be equipped with the Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 package. This comes standard on the Limited and is an option on the $995 Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum models. So the software is a $600 add-on, bringing the total for F-1,595 owners to access BlueCruise to $150.
About Mach-EBlueCruise will be standard on CA Route 1, Premium and First Edition trim levels, with an over-the-air upgrade available to current owners in the fall. If you want it on the Select trim, you'll need to pay a $600 software fee and check the box for the $2,600 Ford Comfort and Technology package, which also includes a 360-degree camera, heated seats, and a steering wheel. .
All this will give you a three-year BlueCruise service period, after which a monthly or annual subscription will likely be required. Ford projects it will sell 100,000 BlueCruise-equipped vehicles in the technology's first full year, based on company sales forecasts and adoption rates.
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