Blue Cruise vs Lane Keep Assist

[Jack in Prescott]

An observation and a question: I picked up my Lariat PB at Granger in Iowa and immediately began driving the 1400 miles back to Arizona. Two of the three days that followed the weather shifted between wet and typhoon-like (especially with the Semi's on the major highways). I was surprised at how quickly I adapted to the lane centering + adaptive CC system...and was astounded at how well the cameras perceived the lane markings when I struggled to see them at all. (Unlike Kristopher's experience, it has dealt very well with dense rain and truck 'spew'). Truly a game changer. About 2/3 of the 1400 miles, the truck essentially drove itself. Yesterday I delivered a 24' camping trailer to a dealer for hail damage repairs and found lane centering to work just as well at highway and secondary road speeds while towing. It wasn't a long trip and I'd heard LC didn't work too well when towing. So far, my experience has been very positive..

A question: Currently, adaptive CC - which I'm assuming is LIDAR based - on the F150 seems pretty short sighted in stop-and-go traffic. I find it kinda zooms up on the slowing traffic in front and then somewhat abruptly slows down. It also seems to be relatively slow to begin moving again. Has anyone seen details of the Blue Cruise system that suggests the (again, I'm assuming) LIDAR-based adaptive CC will be improved in this regard? BC is really about highway cruising, not stop-and-go traffic...but given that traffic congestion (eg. accident ahead) can still occur, I thought I'd ask.

Interesting thread!

Jack

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[gtotco]

Thanks for the info. My commute is about 30min on decent highway and not many turns. Hopefully the copilot winds up being worth it. Not sure what’s worse, anxiety inducing adaptive cruise control or having to drive manually lol. Still wish bluecruise didn’t require the cost of 502A on the lariat. Maybe on my next truck.

Have you had any alarming experiences with adaptive cruise control in traffic? I’m in Maryland so usually a decent amount of traffic on my way home with some slow downs here and there. Would you trust it on a somewhat congested highway cruising around 70 mph?

We have a mountain house that is about a 3 hour drive from where we live in Denver that is mostly 2 lane 65-70mph with a few mountain passes sprinkled in. Even in that relatively challenging environment I find the system works quite well, much better than our CR V with Honda Sensing. As others have said it’s not perfect and there are areas where I turn it off (primarily extremely windy sharp curves where it tends to lose lines and where it doesn’t slow down enough for the curve) but overall I find it to make the relatively long drive much more enjoyable, especially if there is traffic where the ACC shines. My only real complaints are that it’s over aggressive breaking downhill in my opinion (it would be nice to be able to drift up another 5mph or so) and it brakes harder than I would like slowing down for lower speed zones (going from 65 to 55 say), rather than coasting as I would.
On true freeway driving i find it performs even better as curves tend to be less of an issue.

I’d recommend the more advanced system even if BlueCruise isn’t available on your trim.
Also to OPs question as others have pointed out BlueCruise should do more due to HD mapping. My understanding is this is one of the critical difference between how systems like Ford GM and the upcoming Toyota system work differently from Tesla as they have more detailed data in specific areas that should allow them to be more capable in those areas. Tesla Autopilot is more akin to the standard lane centering ACC package. FSD in theory is supposed to be a general AI approach that in theory should just drive like a person wherever you put it but who knows if that will work. My personal feeling (based on conversations with friends who work in both AI and true autonomous vehicle development) is that general AI’s are not as advanced currently as people commonly believe and we are much further away from this truly generalized approach than Tesla seems to think, but I could be completely wrong. Either way the BlueCruise/SuperCruise etc approach of using mapped data in specific circumstances seems generally more reliable but we shall see. I’m excited to try it once it arrives in my truck!

 

[Oxford_Powerboost]

A question: Currently, adaptive CC - which I'm assuming is LIDAR based - on the F150 seems pretty short sighted in stop-and-go traffic. I find it kinda zooms up on the slowing traffic in front and then somewhat abruptly slows down. It also seems to be relatively slow to begin moving again. Has anyone seen details of the Blue Cruise system that suggests the (again, I'm assuming) LIDAR-based adaptive CC will be improved in this regard? BC is really about highway cruising, not stop-and-go traffic...but given that traffic congestion (eg. accident ahead) can still occur, I thought I'd ask.

Interesting thread!

Jack

What is your following distance set on when in stop and go traffic? I’m still waiting on my truck, so my experience is limited to my 2020 Genesis G70 which is a radar based system. I use my adaptive cruise a lot. Almost always it’s on 1 bar of following distance (the closest). Sometimes 2 if I use it on 50mph or less streets. However I quickly learned not to leave it at 1 or 2 in stop and go traffic as it would run up fast on people and then slam on the brakes at the last second (in fact, it once gave me an emergency forward collision brake warning, when it was supposed to be in control itself - all because it ran up too fast on someone). Now as soon as I see I’m coming up on traffic, I adjust the distance to 3 out of my 4 bars and it drives like a dream, braking smoothly and early. Once traffic is consistently back over 30mph and looks like it’s clearing up, I start reducing the following distance again to avoid people getting pissed for the huge gap I’m leaving lol.

interested to hear if that maybe helps you, as I can’t test it on an F150 myself just yet.

 

[dweller]

I use the copilot on the 2 major roads I travel to/from work and the only time I've wanted to take control is when I go through toll booths, just because 1 has a quick turn as you go through it (typical crappy houston designed road system). My first trip home in traffic was actually relaxing, just letting the truck do what it does.

The adaptive cruise control is flawless; I wouldn’t take a long trip without it. The intelligent cruise control, where it reads the speed limit signs and adjusts, is also good, but not perfect; it occasionally gets fooled (for instance, reading a speed sign on a frontage road) but it’s still useful. The lane centering is awesome, and generally does a good job, but I agree you have to keep a hand on the wheel. I’ve had it on a couple of occasions misread marks on the road, or where two roads diverge, and suddenly start to lunge in another direction. It’s also been confused when driving in construction, and one side was a row of traffic cones without a line, and the truck wanted to place itself too far over. I’m not sure what it would do if it wanted to go somewhere where there was an obstacle, for example, it thought the road swerved to the right, but there was another vehicle next to you. I suspect it would just turn off. The few times the truck has decided to move incorrectly has always been on wide open highways with nobody around me. I’m looking forward to seeing how BlueCruise works; I suspect it will significantly reduce fatigue on long drives.

I like adaptive cruise with lane centering quite a bit, and think it lowers driving stress on longer trips significantly. But I tried the intelligent cruise (speed adjustment) and didn't like it because it would sometimes get the speed signs wrong and also would accelerate and decelerate quickly. I'd rather turn this feature off and just have the truck center in the lanes and keep a distance from the cars ahead.

I have 25K under my belt, with probably 80% of those miles using lane keep assist to basically drive the vehicle. If you learn how the system looks at the roads and the lines, you will learn where it works flawlessly and where it does not. First, when it activates, it asks you to place your hands on the steering wheel, so that is the first and only caveat to everything discussed in this thread. I don't think anyone should fault ford or the system for anything it does, because Ford tells to to keep your hands on the wheel.

Additions to other folks comments:

1. I have determined that if the truck determines that you have crossed the lines too many times, it takes the lane centering away until you kill the truck and restart. This is when the green lines show up, even when the lane keep assist is turned on.

2. 2 times during heavy rain the system couldn't detect the distance to the vehicle in front of me, so it disabled the lane keep assist and adaptive cruise until the truck was killed and restarted.

My Review of the system:
Every work trip I have taken since purchase left me relaxed and rested at the end of the trip vs. exhausted and fatigued from the road trip.

There were 3 times when it tried to go right and II grabbed the wheel, but I feel that the sensor input would have re-corrected that action before there was any impact.

The one that jolted me the most was when the road lines detoured the interstate as a right side exit, but the interstate main lane had since been repaired so there was a concrete barricade on the right side where the exit once existed. The truck was following the old detour road lines because they weren't ground off completely after that part of the construction was finished. I did grab the wheel and make the correction as soon as I felt the truck depart to the right, but I really don't think it would have hit the barricade at the right side of the road, because it has sensors in that area telling it there is a wall present. I have had similar instances where it darted toward the other lane where a vehicle was present, but it knew something was present, so it determined an alternate route which resolved the jerk.

The other time which was consistently not working which I felt it should, was with double stripes on each side of the lane, on a 4 lane highway leading up to Miami airport. The truck didn't know if it should go right or left, and that was the ONLY TIME I ever needed to turn the system off.

Other than those quirks, with the radio turned down listening to the key chimes made by the system if the road isn't recognized, I trust the system with my life at 90 MPH all day or night long.

FUN FACT about the system:
The Lane Centering system will drive your truck at night, keeping you centered in your lane perfectly, with all Truck exterior lights turned off with only star and dim moon light present. Has anyone else tried that yet? It is pretty scary after about 30 seconds.

Take it like you want. It says don't take your hands off the wheel. If you choose to take you hands off the wheel, you better know how the system operates. Once you know what roads it works best on, all other concerns about the system go out the window. I absolutely love it, and never want another vehicle without it.

We have a mountain house that is about a 3 hour drive from where we live in Denver that is mostly 2 lane 65-70mph with a few mountain passes sprinkled in. Even in that relatively challenging environment I find the system works quite well, much better than our CR V with Honda Sensing. As others have said it’s not perfect and there are areas where I turn it off (primarily extremely windy sharp curves where it tends to lose lines and where it doesn’t slow down enough for the curve) but overall I find it to make the relatively long drive much more enjoyable, especially if there is traffic where the ACC shines. My only real complaints are that it’s over aggressive breaking downhill in my opinion (it would be nice to be able to drift up another 5mph or so) and it brakes harder than I would like slowing down for lower speed zones (going from 65 to 55 say), rather than coasting as I would.
On true freeway driving i find it performs even better as curves tend to be less of an issue.

I’d recommend the more advanced system even if BlueCruise isn’t available on your trim.
Also to OPs question as others have pointed out BlueCruise should do more due to HD mapping. My understanding is this is one of the critical difference between how systems like Ford GM and the upcoming Toyota system work differently from Tesla as they have more detailed data in specific areas that should allow them to be more capable in those areas. Tesla Autopilot is more akin to the standard lane centering ACC package. FSD in theory is supposed to be a general AI approach that in theory should just drive like a person wherever you put it but who knows if that will work. My personal feeling (based on conversations with friends who work in both AI and true autonomous vehicle development) is that general AI’s are not as advanced currently as people commonly believe and we are much further away from this truly generalized approach than Tesla seems to think, but I could be completely wrong. Either way the BlueCruise/SuperCruise etc approach of using mapped data in specific circumstances seems generally more reliable but we shall see. I’m excited to try it once it arrives in my truck!

Thanks for the insight, all. Getting excited for the ACC now. Never experienced it before. I think it'll make commuting much nicer.

 

[AutonomousHybridF150]

I like adaptive cruise with lane centering quite a bit, and think it lowers driving stress on longer trips significantly. But I tried the intelligent cruise (speed adjustment) and didn't like it because it would sometimes get the speed signs wrong and also would accelerate and decelerate quickly. I'd rather turn this feature off and just have the truck center in the lanes and keep a distance from the cars ahead.

You can change the settings you mentioned in the information center I believe.

An observation and a question: I picked up my Lariat PB at Granger in Iowa and immediately began driving the 1400 miles back to Arizona. Two of the three days that followed the weather shifted between wet and typhoon-like (especially with the Semi's on the major highways). I was surprised at how quickly I adapted to the lane centering + adaptive CC system...and was astounded at how well the cameras perceived the lane markings when I struggled to see them at all. (Unlike Kristopher's experience, it has dealt very well with dense rain and truck 'spew'). Truly a game changer. About 2/3 of the 1400 miles, the truck essentially drove itself. Yesterday I delivered a 24' camping trailer to a dealer for hail damage repairs and found lane centering to work just as well at highway and secondary road speeds while towing. It wasn't a long trip and I'd heard LC didn't work too well when towing. So far, my experience has been very positive..

A question: Currently, adaptive CC - which I'm assuming is LIDAR based - on the F150 seems pretty short sighted in stop-and-go traffic. I find it kinda zooms up on the slowing traffic in front and then somewhat abruptly slows down. It also seems to be relatively slow to begin moving again. Has anyone seen details of the Blue Cruise system that suggests the (again, I'm assuming) LIDAR-based adaptive CC will be improved in this regard? BC is really about highway cruising, not stop-and-go traffic...but given that traffic congestion (eg. accident ahead) can still occur, I thought I'd ask.

Interesting thread!

Jack

I wondered about this. So, over the course of my ownership I set off to determine that. I’m doing so, I determined something else.

1. Running up on stopped traffic and braking at the last second to end perfectly 4 feet from the stopped cars back bumper.

I have determined that with the Powerboost the adaptive cruise (in eco and normal mode) uses the regenerative braking to stop the truck 100% and nets me 100% regen braking EVERY TIME. So, the truck stops perfectly within the eco gauge on the needle every time. I can’t stop the truck as fast as it can, without pushing the eco needle some, so braking is perfect every time, even though it’s scary. If just knows how many feet are left before it needs to begin applying the perfect braking pressure, all to end 4 feet from the vehicle in front of you.

2. I have also determined that allowing the adaptive cruise to accelerate the truck, it will maintain perfect eco gauge alignment, and you really get the best economy for the quick traffic acceleration. My foot can’t make it accelerate that fast while keeping the good economy.

With the Powerboost the above statements hold true. The stopping is perfect and has never had issue. I prefer the truck to drive in stop and go traffic, and I trust it with my life daily.

The early warning for impending front collision has algorithms and calculations like that of a human. One time a vehicle had its bumper out in the lane 2 feet. Lane keeping was not on, but I saw this long ahead of time, and made a joke to my GF “hey I wonder if this thing will use the crash avoidance on that one”. Well, right about that time, at more than 50-100 feet back traveling at 35MPH, the truck early warning system told me there was something stopped in front of me. While this is working as intended, the funny thing for me was that based on how soon it let me know, it fully knew that was a vehicles bumper poking out in the road about 1-2 feet which may be overlooked by the driver. Because the early warning system NEVER goes off unless you MESSED UP and we’re looking at your phone distracted, or if you are driving recklessly with friends.

As far as how it works if you don’t stop, the brakes on the 2021 truck activate (going from 0% to 100% max braking) faster than the 2011 GT500 I used to have. Real experience:
Driving to Key West, I was trying to tuck in behind an 18 wheeler at 65-70 MPH, the way we were already moving, I didn’t have to apply brake, just move left a little and change lanes behind the 18 wheeler. Well, as I am removing my foot front the accelerator to cover the brake (my truck reached maybe 5 feet from the back of the 18 wheeler) and then it happened.

BAM!!!!! The fastest most perfect timing to slam the brakes on 100%. So absolutely fast and jolting that it caused an adult race roller skate to shoot over the center console into the front floorboards. But then, as quickly as it happened, it let off the brakes just as fast. Once it’s calculations determined impact was no longer eminent (because the 18 wheeler wasn’t stopping, I was just too close), the truck let off the brakes. The electric brakes on this truck are absolutely nuts crazy fast. There was at least one time it did help me keep from rear ending someone when I was actually distracted, and it amazed me just as much then as it did the first time.

And now you know, you can get best economy simply by letting the truck accelerate and decelerate for you all the time. Most of my best MPG were because I just let the truck drive as much as humanly possible. I trust it, because I have 25k miles with it. Your mileage my vary though due to road markings etc.

 

[Lpetters84]

I have 25K under my belt, with probably 80% of those miles using lane keep assist to basically drive the vehicle. If you learn how the system looks at the roads and the lines, you will learn where it works flawlessly and where it does not. First, when it activates, it asks you to place your hands on the steering wheel, so that is the first and only caveat to everything discussed in this thread. I don't think anyone should fault ford or the system for anything it does, because Ford tells to to keep your hands on the wheel.

Additions to other folks comments:

1. I have determined that if the truck determines that you have crossed the lines too many times, it takes the lane centering away until you kill the truck and restart. This is when the green lines show up, even when the lane keep assist is turned on.

2. 2 times during heavy rain the system couldn't detect the distance to the vehicle in front of me, so it disabled the lane keep assist and adaptive cruise until the truck was killed and restarted.

My Review of the system:
Every work trip I have taken since purchase left me relaxed and rested at the end of the trip vs. exhausted and fatigued from the road trip.

There were 3 times when it tried to go right and II grabbed the wheel, but I feel that the sensor input would have re-corrected that action before there was any impact.

The one that jolted me the most was when the road lines detoured the interstate as a right side exit, but the interstate main lane had since been repaired so there was a concrete barricade on the right side where the exit once existed. The truck was following the old detour road lines because they weren't ground off completely after that part of the construction was finished. I did grab the wheel and make the correction as soon as I felt the truck depart to the right, but I really don't think it would have hit the barricade at the right side of the road, because it has sensors in that area telling it there is a wall present. I have had similar instances where it darted toward the other lane where a vehicle was present, but it knew something was present, so it determined an alternate route which resolved the jerk.

The other time which was consistently not working which I felt it should, was with double stripes on each side of the lane, on a 4 lane highway leading up to Miami airport. The truck didn't know if it should go right or left, and that was the ONLY TIME I ever needed to turn the system off.

Other than those quirks, with the radio turned down listening to the key chimes made by the system if the road isn't recognized, I trust the system with my life at 90 MPH all day or night long.

FUN FACT about the system:
The Lane Centering system will drive your truck at night, keeping you centered in your lane perfectly, with all Truck exterior lights turned off with only star and dim moon light present. Has anyone else tried that yet? It is pretty scary after about 30 seconds.

Take it like you want. It says don't take your hands off the wheel. If you choose to take you hands off the wheel, you better know how the system operates. Once you know what roads it works best on, all other concerns about the system go out the window. I absolutely love it, and never want another vehicle without it.

@TexasTrash - yes I do like the adaptive cruise and it does work very well. Technically it even works in traffic. My only issues with it is it brakes harder than I normally would. It’s still wonderful lol don’t get me wrong but im a trust but verify kind of person ?

@AutonomousHybridF150- thanks for the details. I enjoyed reading. The fun fact is awesome and terrifying at the same time but very cool. If you ever have to disappear or you’re on the run. Ha!

 

[gtotco]

A question: Currently, adaptive CC - which I'm assuming is LIDAR based - on the F150 seems pretty short sighted in stop-and-go traffic.

FYI - I'm 99% sure ACC is radar and not LIDAR based. If I'm not mistaken the Mercedes Benz EQS or the upcoming Lexus LS will be the first production vehicles in the US to use LIDAR.

 

[AutonomousHybridF150]

FYI - I'm 99% sure ACC is radar and not LIDAR based. If I'm not mistaken the Mercedes Benz EQS or the upcoming Lexus LS will be the first production vehicles in the US to use LIDAR.

I had to turn the laser detection off on my escort after getting my powerboost.

only took me 2000 miles to figure out it was my truck reflecting off large road signs.

 

[newdeal99]

BlueCruise will be very different. Lane centering uses the cameras to detect lanes and try to stay between them. BlueCruise will only work on roads that are pre-mapped and it already knows where the lanes are. Much different knowing where they are ahead of time versus trying to detect them on the fly.

highly doubtful. GPS is only so accurate and it isn't accurate enough.

 

[Dadofjax]

I used my adaptive cruise control all the time. Unfortunately Ford can't fix my Pre-collision assist/front camera error. They tried to replace the control board, ran a bunch of test now I have to wait 3 month for a front camera. I currently don't have adaptive cruse control, lane centering, normal cruise control or any safety features.

A fabulous $70K truck!

 

[Ajzride]

highly doubtful. GPS is only so accurate and it isn't accurate enough.

Standard GPS is not, but high accuracy GPS is available and most likely what Ford is using (although they have not official said so to my knowledge). This article on GM Supercruise has details:

https://www.gpsworld.com/trimbles-gnss-positioning-guides-gms-hands-free-super-cruise/

 

[BLoflin]

I believe (but certainly could be wrong) that high accuracy GPS is used to determine where the car is (i.e. what lane), so that the pre-mapping roadway data can be used to control/steer the car.

I do NOT believe that it can use GPS to actually control/steer the car.

I.E. the car knows which lane, and if that lane is an exit lane or a lane that is ending up ahead, and based on the pre-mapped data know to have the car switch lanes to continue on it's intended navigation.

It can not adjust the car over because the GPS detects it is driving close to the right side white line.

 

[dweller]

I believe (but certainly could be wrong) that high accuracy GPS is used to determine where the car is (i.e. what lane), so that the pre-mapping roadway data can be used to control/steer the car.

I do NOT believe that it can use GPS to actually control/steer the car.

I.E. the car knows which lane, and if that lane is an exit lane or a lane that is ending up ahead, and based on the pre-mapped data know to have the car switch lanes to continue on it's intended navigation.

It can not adjust the car over because the GPS detects it is driving close to the right side white line.

how well do you think these premapped routes account for changing road conditions like construction?

it seems like it’d be hard to keep them updated. in the northeast it seems like there’s constant construction with lane shifts and closures.

 

[GolfR]

Standard GPS is not, but high accuracy GPS is available and most likely what Ford is using (although they have not official said so to my knowledge). This article on GM Supercruise has details:

https://www.gpsworld.com/trimbles-gnss-positioning-guides-gms-hands-free-super-cruise/

This system for GPS correction has been around for close to two decades, originally widely deployed for John Deer in order to provide their equipment with enough accuracy to automate farm equipment on very large industrial farms. Differential GPS is used fairly widely, and this is one of the reasons that the truck has to have cell phone service for blue cruise to work. The truck will need to access differential GPS corrections at regular intervals and from local stations in order to correct the regular GPS signals for errors to get the added accuracy.

While the highly accurate GPS will certainly aid Blue Cruise, it will absolutely not be the only system used. The GPS may make a big difference over the current lane centering by enabling the system to coast though exit lane departure lines, on/off ramps and other things that trip up the current system. There is no way that the system could rely solely on GPS. Not only is the accuracy just not there but it would be unable operate under bridges or in tunnels.

 

[diesel97]

This system for GPS correction has been around for close to two decades, originally widely deployed for John Deer in order to provide their equipment with enough accuracy to automate farm equipment on very large industrial farms. Differential GPS is used fairly widely, and this is one of the reasons that the truck has to have cell phone service for blue cruise to work. The truck will need to access differential GPS corrections at regular intervals and from local stations in order to correct the regular GPS signals for errors to get the added accuracy.

While the highly accurate GPS will certainly aid Blue Cruise, it will absolutely not be the only system used. The GPS may make a big difference over the current lane centering by enabling the system to coast though exit lane departure lines, on/off ramps and other things that trip up the current system. There is no way that the system could rely solely on GPS. Not only is the accuracy just not there but it would be unable operate under bridges or in tunnels.

Are you saying you need an ATT cell phone contract to use Blue Cruise?

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