For 18 months, Rivian and Google engineers labored collectively. Right now, they’re exhibiting off their work.
Rivian is pushing out a software program replace that can carry a novel model of Google Maps into its EVs. It’s the newest step in Rivian’s continued effort to tell apart its automobiles with software program — an effort that has helped it strike up a three way partnership with one of many world’s largest automakers, Volkswagen.
This isn’t a typical the Google Maps integration and it’s not like the tech firm’s different collaborations within the automotive sector. For years, Google has pushed into automotive via its smartphone projection app known as Android Auto in addition to Google built-in, an Android Automotive working system that integrates Google providers straight into the car and is utilized by automakers like Volvo.
The collaboration with Rivian is neither. As an alternative, Rivian prospects who use the in-car navigation will not see the Mapbox-based maps. Now, they’ll see Google Maps, however with lots of Rivian DNA sprinkled on prime, together with its journey planner, consumer interface and design, and EV charger places, in response to Rivian’s chief of software program Wassym Bensaid.
“We clearly intently watch buyer suggestions, and I believe one of many areas the place we had some degree of criticism was navigation,” Bensaid stated. The corporate might have tried to incrementally enhance its current in-car navigation. As an alternative, it began working with Google to launch a brand new product.
Rivian’s problem: it didn’t simply need the default Google Maps utility.
“Google actually wished to embrace a brand new mannequin of collaboration with a extra open integration all the way down to the API ranges for Google Maps, and that required working with a tech accomplice on that journey to combine each options, and I believe we’re actually tremendous proud of the results of this collaboration,” he stated.
The brand new maps characteristic will embody estimated time of arrival, site visitors updates, place info, and satellite tv for pc imagery from Google Maps, all of which is built-in into Rivian’s navigation system. The in-car navigation may even embody tappable factors of curiosity.
Carrying over Rivian’s journey planner is essential because it showcases EV vary estimates and charging cease choice, all powered by A Higher Routeplanner. Different Rivian options like its “vary on arrival,” charging stops and preferences, and the EV maker’s charging rating, which provides a ranking for particular person charging websites based mostly on plug-in information from Rivian automobiles, have additionally been folded into the Google Maps.
The brand new Google-based maps will begin to roll out in the present day through a software program replace in Rivian automobiles and its cellular app.
The up to date Rivian cellular app will embody further journey planning options as properly. Rivian stated it added place images, place descriptions and satellite tv for pc view (with a Join+ subscription), in addition to the flexibility to see site visitors and site visitors incidents within the app. Customers also can proceed to share locations and journeys from the Rivian cellular app to their car.
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