Lucid Air unlocks hands-free driving with new software update

Lucid Motors is proving that your vehicle can get smarter while it sits in your driveway, and rolls out a major software update that gives its Air sedan a significant new talent: hands-free driving. Starting this week, Lucid Air owners can activate the new features through an over-the-air (OTA) update.

The update introduces "Hands-Free Driving Assist" and "Hands-Free Lane Change Assist." These systems allow the driver to take their hands off the steering wheel on compatible divided highways. The car will manage its speed and steering to stay centered in its lane. To initiate a lane change, the driver simply needs to use the turn signal, and the vehicle will handle the rest, provided the coast is clear.

This might be a big step for the brand, but it feels a bit late to the party. Even worse, Lucid's upcoming Gravity SUV owners will have to wait until later this year to get the same functionality.

The new update is part of Lucid's optional "DreamDrive Pro" package. For an extra $950 plus tax, customers get an advanced suite of tools designed to make driving easier and safer. Before this latest update, the package already included features like adaptive cruise control, which maintains a set distance from the car ahead, and a 3D lane visualization on the driver's display.

The magic behind DreamDrive Pro is a massive array of hardware built into every car that has the package. The system uses a total of 32 different sensors to see the world around it. This includes high-tech LiDAR, which uses lasers to create a detailed 3D map of the car's surroundings. It also employs a network of traditional visible-light cameras, surround-view cameras for a bird's-eye perspective, and ultrasonic radars.

According to Kai Stepper, Lucid's vice president of ADAS and Automated Driving, this is just the beginning. He described the new features as a "glimpse into the future that Lucid is building." Stepper emphasized that the company has a long-term plan to deliver even more functions, following a recent update last month that introduced Android Auto to Lucid Air's massive 34-inch Glass Cockpit display.

In the first half of this year, the Lucid Air became the best-selling luxury electric sedan in the United States. Quite interestingly, the Air outsold its primary rival, the Tesla Model S, and even surpassed sales of most gasoline-powered competitors in its class.

Via