Subaru is the latest company to launch hands-free driving technology, but for now it’s exclusive to the US-market Outback.
The new hands-free driving system is now standard on the new-generation Outback Touring and Touring XT in the US, and available via a no-cost update to existing owners there.
The feature, called EyeSight Highway Hands-Free Assist, has yet to be confirmed for Australia.
“At this stage, nothing has been confirmed for our market, however, we are always exploring opportunities to bring new and exciting technologies to Australia,” said a Subaru Australia spokesperson.
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Like General Motors’ Super Cruise and Ford’s BlueCruise – and unlike Tesla’s Full Self-Driving – it only supports hands-off driving on highways.
EyeSight Highway Hands-Free Assist can be enabled when adaptive cruise control is turned on, and works at speeds of up to 137km/h on “most” US highways with at least two lanes. A blue icon in the digital instrument cluster indicates the feature is on.
Subaru isn’t promising the moon, calling it “limited” hands-free assist, though the technology also allows for active lane change support, emergency stop assist, and highway pre-curve speed control.
The company says its engineers logged nearly 100,000 miles (161,000km) of hands-free driving during development.
A new, second-generation DriverFocus monitoring system – featuring a wider-angle, higher-resolution camera with improved processing – monitors the driver to ensure they’re attentive.
If the driver isn’t paying attention to the road ahead, the system disengages and the driver must put their hands back on the wheel and take control.
Subaru says its advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) are supported by GPS data, high-definition 3D maps, millimetre-wave radar, and cameras.
Australian-market Outbacks feature a wide range of standard safety technology, with all featuring adaptive cruise control, lane centring, and an emergency driving stop system that safely pulls over the vehicle in the event the driver is incapacitated; the Touring also features active lane-change assist.
Even with adaptive cruise and lane centring activated, however, you’ll always need to keep your hands on the wheel.