BlueCruise Adds Hands-Free Lane Changing Feature

Ford will introduce BlueCruise 1.2 and Lincoln ActiveGlide 1.2 this fall with new, hands-free driving features to create a more human-like driving feel.

Available BlueCruise 1.2 and ActiveGlide 1.2 will include three features:

• Lane change assist will perform a hands-free lane change when requested by the driver tapping the turn signal. The system can also suggest a lane change when following slow-moving traffic.
• Predictive speed assist will automatically adjust the speed when the vehicle approaches a sharp curve and will help signal the driver ahead of time when a speed change is about to occur so he or she knows why the vehicle is slowing.
• In-lane repositioning will keep the vehicle in its lane while subtly shifting the vehicle’s position away from vehicles in adjacent lanes, especially when next to bigger vehicles such as semis.

Ford said in a statement that it is continuing to add features to BlueCruise and enhance its advanced driver assist systems to offer a more human-like driving performance, in addition to refining visuals, sensing, and steering experiences. It also stated that maps are continually being improved with over-the-air updates identifying pre-qualified sections of divided highways where BlueCruise can be used, which currently covers more than 130,000 miles.

Once a pre-qualified road is identified, BlueCruise-equipped vehicles sense and help confirm lane lines are visible, the driver has eyes on the road and other conditions appropriate before transitioning to hands-free driving. BlueCruise uses animated cluster transitions featuring text and blue lighting cues to communicate that the feature is in hands-free mode, which can even assist drivers with color blindness.

More than 75,000 Ford and Lincoln customers have enrolled in BlueCruise and ActiveGlide, with more than 16 million hands-free driving miles accumulated through the end of August.