Rivian launches invite-only Autonomy Early Access Program
Some Rivian drivers have started receiving invites to the automaker’s Autonomy Early Access Program, according to the company’s website.
The program is designed to test and refine pre-released driver assistance features before they roll out to the broader fleet. The features include “point-to-point” autonomy features.
All owners with an active Autonomy+ subscription can indicate their interest to join the program by applying through their Rivian account. The invitations go to a limited group of owners with high autonomy feature usage and clean recent safety record.
It also will start with Rivian R1 Gen 2 and R2 owners in California and Florida. It will steadily expand to other states prior to a planned 2027 release, the website states.
The invitation rollout follows comments made by Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe regarding the company’s plans for autonomous vehicle software during a TechCrunch Disrupt event, held last week.
TechCrunch reports Scaringe said he’s willing to delay profitability to develop autonomous vehicle software for EVs. Rivian could be venturing into a different type of vehicle from its outdoorsy SUVs in the future, he said.
“Where it gets really interesting is when you think beyond R2 and R3 and start to imagine the form factors that you want to build for a personally owned autonomous vehicle. You know, it opens up all kinds of design opportunities. It can create dramatically different experiences,” he said in an interview with TechCrunch. “I’m wildly excited about what the next 10 years look like in transportation because of what this enables us to dream and think about.”
TechCrunch states that Rivian is a few years away from reworking the company for a self-driving software. It describes Rivian’s “point-to-point’ navigation as driving without intervention but under supervision.
Rivian is also working toward a full autonomy software that will deploy in robotaxi versions of its R2 SUV, TechCrunch reports.
Scaringe told TechCrunch that he believes most driving with autonomy will continue to happen in personal vehicles.
“Where it gets really interesting is when you think beyond R2 and R3 and start to imagine the form factors that you want to build for a personally owned autonomous vehicle,” he told TechCrunch. “You know, it opens up all kinds of design opportunities. It can create dramatically different experiences. I’m wildly excited about what the next 10 years look like in transportation because of what this enables us to dream and think about.”
For information on how to participate in Rivian’s Autonomy Early Access Program visit here.
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Photo of Rivian R2 courtesy of Rivian