Sandy Munro checks out Ford's BlueCruise

[Njia]

No doubt Ford is great car manufacturer but probably will never become a competent software company.

Ford is a car company that wants to produce software, which is the core of its problems. Tesla is a software company that wants to produce cars, which is the core of *its* problems.

Sponsored

 

[breeves002]

The comments section makes me laugh.

I've been using what @Mach-Lee likes to call "Indiana Jones mode" where I use a sand filled ankle weight to allow me to drive hands free. *disclaimer don't try this at home - it's dangerous blah blah blah* - it works great, and navigates sharp turns fine. I pay a ton of attention still because there are situations where it will need hands on attention and it won't tell me because it thinks I have my hands on....it's just BlueCruise lite

My guess is in this video it may have not like the solid white lines and worried that it was construction or something. Though in my experience lane centering still does just fine...even in most construction zones...it just wanted to be prepared for hands on.

This doesn't make me feel any different about it. It is the first iteration. Tesla Autopilot is fine, I've used it plenty, but I don't think it is leaps and bounds better like the Tesla fanboys say and that this is a "joke". People crack me up.

 

[Shayne]

The comments section makes me laugh.

I've been using what @Mach-Lee likes to call "Indiana Jones mode" where I use a sand filled ankle weight to allow me to drive hands free. *disclaimer don't try this at home - it's dangerous blah blah blah* - it works great, and navigates sharp turns fine. I pay a ton of attention still because there are situations where it will need hands on attention and it won't tell me because it thinks I have my hands on....it's just BlueCruise lite

My guess is in this video it may have not like the solid white lines and worried that it was construction or something. Though in my experience lane centering still does just fine...even in most construction zones...it just wanted to be prepared for hands on.

This doesn't make me feel any different about it. It is the first iteration. Tesla Autopilot is fine, I've used it plenty, but I don't think it is leaps and bounds better like the Tesla fanboys say and that this is a "joke". People crack me up.

An ankle weight wow that is a whole lot better than old gym running shoes ? definitely I will not do that when at home.

 

[bshaw]

My guess is in this video it may have not like[d] the solid white lines and worried that it was construction or something. Though in my experience lane centering still does just fine...even in most construction zones...it just wanted to be prepared for hands on.

This was my impression after watching the video as well. The change from dashed lines to solid lines are probably configured as a cue for BlueCruise to ask for driver hands on the wheel. Regardless of the actual sharpness of the curve, I would expect any freeway that includes this element to behave the same way in BlueCruise. I'm guessing there are other cues that, when seen up by the camera, will trigger the same disengagement of handsfree -- even if the road is completely straight ahead of you. (cones, emergency vehicles, etc)

Not saying I want it that way, but that's what I'm expecting. The video seemed like a genuine representation of what you're going to get by purchasing the BlueCruise add-on. Whether its worth $600, that's up to you. Ford did their homework, and I would think most MME owners will opt in at that price point.

 

[Stang68]

If you look carefully, the disengagement occurred at a significant distance from the curve. So something happened there. Since BC is based on maps and geofences it might have been simply the bug in maps.
The regular intelligent cruise control could have taken the curve without problems just relying on the computer vision, I see it every day, but that in general would be unacceptable for hands free driving.
Tesla, mentioned here, totally relies on camera, which is insufficiently safe for hands free driving, it's not all that different from the same intelligent cruise control.

I’m not even talking about Tesla. My God you guys are insane with the company. Who gives a shit what they are doing, their CEO is a lying Silicon Valley d-bag.

When it comes to BC, we can’t deny this was a really bad demo. Sure blame the maps it’s basing that curve approach on but either way BC couldn’t handle it in its current form and the Ford engineer sitting there said so. I’m still signing up for BC but this was shit. My only saving grace right now is the other early hands-on articles. Those were all overwhelmingly positive.

 

[Stang68]

The comments section makes me laugh.

I've been using what @Mach-Lee likes to call "Indiana Jones mode" where I use a sand filled ankle weight to allow me to drive hands free. *disclaimer don't try this at home - it's dangerous blah blah blah* - it works great, and navigates sharp turns fine. I pay a ton of attention still because there are situations where it will need hands on attention and it won't tell me because it thinks I have my hands on....it's just BlueCruise lite

I’m sure all the families on the road appreciate you paying extra attention to the ankle weight on the steering wheel!

Not to be harsh but those are the things we usually rag on Tesla owners for!

 

[JoeDimwit]

For the two folks who commented they live near that stretch of road, I am curious how your cars handle those “tight” turns with cruise and lane keep active. That doesn’t look much different than areas that i have let the car handle without issue. I wonder if the blue cruise reaction is just Ford being cautious.

I will drive that route home from work tonight, in the same direction. I’ll throw active lane centering on with ICC, and report back tomorrow how it handles. There are a couple curves in I-75 that are significantly tighter than those two, namely the one between 9-mile, and the one at 16-Mile roads, and I don’t recall ever having an issue with those. ?‍

 

[Shayne]

I’m sure all the families on the road appreciate you paying extra attention to the ankle weight on the steering wheel of your 5,000 pound car.

Not to be harsh but those are the things we usually rag on Tesla owners for!

I think it was all in jest but of course.

 

[Stang68]

I think it was all in jest but of course.

Hope so!

 

[JoeDimwit]

I’d like to see someone test the sensitivity of the eye tracker. If my eyes are open and facing forward, but I’m looking down at the steering wheel where I might be holding a phone, will that trigger the sensor? How often / long can I close my eyes or look away?

I’m somewhat curious how long a person could watch a tablet sitting on the dashboard…

 

[Shayne]

I will drive that route home from work tonight, in the same direction. I’ll throw active lane centering on with ICC, and report back tomorrow how it handles. There are a couple curves in I-75 that are significantly tighter than those two, namely the one between 9-mile, and the one at 16-Mile roads, and I don’t recall ever having an issue with those. ?‍

The one think you need to remember about Sandy is when he talks to Ford engineering he needs to make the point and let them know that he thinks Tesla is better. You can take that at the value you feel is appropriate. For me the more he does it the less value it holds. I do have more respect for Ford engineers now watching them bite their tongues and putting up with him. ? Good on you Ford.

 

[JoeDimwit]

The one think you need to remember about Sandy is when he talks to Ford engineering he needs to make the point and let them know that he thinks Tesla is better. You can take that at the value you feel is appropriate. For me the more he does it the less value it holds. I do have more respect for Ford engineers now watching them bite their tongues and putting up with him. ? Good on you Ford.

I’ve been pretty vocal about what I think of Mr Munro. (Im not a fan) But, in this case, the engineer sitting next to him told him the system doesn’t handle those curves in auto.

 

[Brian707]

To me this might be an issue of small sample size bias. Lets just wait until other people report a similar issue with curves.

 

[Shayne]

I’ve been pretty vocal about what I think of Mr Munro. (Im not a fan) But, in this case, the engineer sitting next to him told him the system doesn’t handle those curves in auto.

Yes corrections are helpful when required for full understanding. I could not get thru the last one with a Ford engineer in their shop. Just couldn't do it.

 

[g8mb1t]

The one think you need to remember about Sandy is when he talks to Ford engineering he needs to make the point and let them know that he thinks Tesla is better. You can take that at the value you feel is appropriate. For me the more he does it the less value it holds. I do have more respect for Ford engineers now watching them bite their tongues and putting up with him. ? Good on you Ford.

It’s such a shame that Sandy cut the engineer off from talking about the plan the roadmap to get them into the game. Ford will have to put in place the foundational capabilities and iterate from that point. He was clearly not interested in the plan. I hope ford incorporates the radar + 4 cameras into its software. Tesla going camera only could be limited in bad light situations or objects that look like the sky but isn’t. I’ve driven Tesla’s with the latest autopilot and its not a perfect system, Just don’t trust it atm. If ford can end up with auto steer on highway, auto lane change would be great.

Sponsored