BlueCruise is Ford’s new hands-free driving assist system that aims to make driving less stressful

While Tesla has been making all the headlines with its “full self-driving” capabilities, Ford has been developing its own hands-free driving assist system, and this week the company is finally showing off what it has been working on.

So what is it? It’s called BlueCruise (formerly known as Active Drive Assist) and it’s coming to the company’s F-150 and Mustang Mach-E models. The feature will only work on about 110,000 miles of “pre-mapped divided lane highways,” which Ford is hoping to expand in the coming years. 

BlueCruise’s driver assistance system allows you to drive without having your hands on the wheel. It automatically brakes and accelerates when you’re in traffic and centers the vehicle in its lane for extended periods of time. “Eye-tracking infrared cameras” ensure your eyes are on the road and if not, the system will notify you to keep your eyes on the road. 

Newer F-150 and Mustang Mach-E owners that don’t already have BlueCruise enabled should be getting an over-the-air update sometime during Q3 2021. Ford will likely roll out BlueCruise to other models in the coming years.

According to the press release, Ford expects to ship more than 100,000 new Fords loaded with BlueCruise in its first year of release.  

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