Photo: Rivian, @RivianTrackr, @Hilbe via X
Rivian has stepped up its software game with the launch of the refreshed R1S and R1T, aiming to catch up with Tesla. The new Autonomy platform introduces features that mirror Tesla's Enhanced Autopilot, but it can also evolve thanks to end-to-end training of "Visual Transformers."
Rivian has kept us on our toes with the refreshed R1S and R1T, which finally launched on Thursday. Although the exterior design doesn't seem like it changed at all, Rivian has operated major upgrades under the hood. Besides the mechanical changes that are sure to make geeks excited, Rivian has significantly stepped up its software game with the refreshed models.
One of the areas where the 2025 R1S and R1T shine is driver assistance. When Elon Musk bragged about signing up a "major carmaker" to license its FSD hardware and software in April, many thought he was talking about Rivian. However, the EV startup poured cold water on these rumors with the R1 refresh launch. Instead, Rivian doubled down on the Nvidia platform, upgrading the R1 vehicles with dual Nvidia Drive Orin processors running Drive OS.
The upgraded driver assistance hardware now features 11 cameras, five radars, and AI prediction technology for advanced safety and driving assistance. Rivian calls it the Autonomy Platform, which integrates with the Autonomy Compute Module (the equivalent to Tesla's Autopilot computer), which offers 10 times the computing power of the previous system. The cameras alone are a massive upgrade over pre-refresh models, thanks to their much higher resolution.
Rivian launched a new driver assistance package on top of this upgraded hardware platform. So far, the basic function offered as standard on all vehicles doesn't differ from what the previous Driver+ system provides. By some accounts, some of these functions perform worse on the refreshed models, a good sign that Rivian still needs time to optimize the new platform.
Rivian plans to also offer a premium assistance package, predictably called Autonomy Platform+, enabling more advanced automated driving functions. The Lane Change on Command feature will be the first to come this summer, allowing drivers to initiate an automated lane change by turning on the blinker. From next year, more advanced driver assistance systems will be offered, including Enhanced Highway Assist with on-ramp to off-ramp navigation.
Rivian uses artificial intelligence software to anticipate, plan, and react in real-time to traffic conditions. It takes architectural elements from large language models (LLMs), this time called "Vision Transformers," to perceive and understand surroundings. The software can predict the behavior of other vehicles and pedestrians and prepare your car in advance. Rivian says that its software uses end-to-end training to learn and improve over time, which sounds a lot like Tesla's neural networks and FSD software.
Currently, Rivian focuses on highway driving, specifically on-ramp to off-ramp functionality. This doesn't mean it doesn't want to offer automated driving on city streets as Tesla does with its Full Self-Driving software. Rivian is years behind Tesla in this regard, and it lacks the resources to build massive data centers to train its end-to-end software. However, with the refreshed R1 lineup, it positioned itself to expand its automated driving capabilities in the future.
One of the areas where the 2025 R1S and R1T shine is driver assistance. When Elon Musk bragged about signing up a "major carmaker" to license its FSD hardware and software in April, many thought he was talking about Rivian. However, the EV startup poured cold water on these rumors with the R1 refresh launch. Instead, Rivian doubled down on the Nvidia platform, upgrading the R1 vehicles with dual Nvidia Drive Orin processors running Drive OS.
The upgraded driver assistance hardware now features 11 cameras, five radars, and AI prediction technology for advanced safety and driving assistance. Rivian calls it the Autonomy Platform, which integrates with the Autonomy Compute Module (the equivalent to Tesla's Autopilot computer), which offers 10 times the computing power of the previous system. The cameras alone are a massive upgrade over pre-refresh models, thanks to their much higher resolution.
Rivian launched a new driver assistance package on top of this upgraded hardware platform. So far, the basic function offered as standard on all vehicles doesn't differ from what the previous Driver+ system provides. By some accounts, some of these functions perform worse on the refreshed models, a good sign that Rivian still needs time to optimize the new platform.
Rivian plans to also offer a premium assistance package, predictably called Autonomy Platform+, enabling more advanced automated driving functions. The Lane Change on Command feature will be the first to come this summer, allowing drivers to initiate an automated lane change by turning on the blinker. From next year, more advanced driver assistance systems will be offered, including Enhanced Highway Assist with on-ramp to off-ramp navigation.
Rivian uses artificial intelligence software to anticipate, plan, and react in real-time to traffic conditions. It takes architectural elements from large language models (LLMs), this time called "Vision Transformers," to perceive and understand surroundings. The software can predict the behavior of other vehicles and pedestrians and prepare your car in advance. Rivian says that its software uses end-to-end training to learn and improve over time, which sounds a lot like Tesla's neural networks and FSD software.
Currently, Rivian focuses on highway driving, specifically on-ramp to off-ramp functionality. This doesn't mean it doesn't want to offer automated driving on city streets as Tesla does with its Full Self-Driving software. Rivian is years behind Tesla in this regard, and it lacks the resources to build massive data centers to train its end-to-end software. However, with the refreshed R1 lineup, it positioned itself to expand its automated driving capabilities in the future.
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