Yeah, should be a simple swap.
Not seems. They said as much at Gen 2 launch, that gen 1 was at near development limits. And later revelations point to computing limits (as they made decision to change their ADAS direction from one that is rules based to one that is AI based).
It's not even that. They have a rather primitive version of the MobileEye system installed (Gen2 has a more advanced version). However, on Gen2 Rivian also installed a discrete/redundant main camera and created their own ADAS based on an AI approach. Gen1 supposedly still has a compute module that Rivian could've used to develop a more advanced system than what we have today, but RJ claimed in an interview that it wouldn't work with the AI approach they're currently using and they had zero intention to develop a different approach for Gen1. So it's not that they couldn't do more, they are choosing not to. Hard to blame them, but it is still disappointing given the marketing speech used to sell us on Gen1. As always, buy a car for what it can do today and if you get more in the future, more the better.
I agree, it sucks that they didn't futher Gen 1's Autonomy features, but I don't blame them, nor do I feel slighted as a result. The system is good enough for my use cases, and where it falls short, fortunately there's Comma
I can see how their initial enthusiasm could be interpreted as “bait and switch”. However, I think everyone at points in their lives, lacking gift of fortune telling, have promised or predicted things they later wish they hadn’t. Autonomy was never an important feature to me and I reserved just early enough to avoid price hike. So I don’t feel cheated. However, if my priorities change, 1k-ish price for Comma seems reasonable. Warranty implications aside, it seems to have delivered on promises?
I have no strong desire to add a Comma to my truck, but that may change after Rivian gives Gen2 lane centering on unmapped roads. When your primary interface to the vehicle/infotainment is a giant tablet, robust lane centering ought the have a high priority for safety. With physical buttons you can do a lot without looking just by muscle memory / feel. I'm still hoping that Rivian will at some point bring out a substantially larger battery pack like the 180 kWh that the Max was originally supposed to be for those of us that tow. Do that along with better charging thermals and I'd rather upgrade my truck than use a 3rd party add-on for autonomy.
I can tell you that having a Comma since April in my Gen 1 now with 75k miles, it's a breath of fresh air. I've logged over 15k miles driven with the comma and like our infotainment, it gets better all the time with updates. If you aren't a highway driver, you might think the comma isn't really helpful - but I tell you, I engage mine as I leave my driveway and don't disengage until I get where I'm going. It works for any road/surface and being conversational, I can steer over what it's doing if I want without it disengaging. It just provides a little freedom and added safety at the same time.
