This New Car Feature Uses AI to Keep You From Missing Your Exit

Have you ever muttered the words “Pull, I had to turn there” while driving? I certainly did. What if your car could tell you when you need to change lanes to exit?

This is exactly what the latest software update offers for a popular electric carTHE North Star 4can do it. The new update introduces Live lane guidance from Google Maps directly into the Polestar 4’s 10.2-inch driver’s head-up display.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased technical content and lab reviews. Add CNET as your preferred Google source.

How does live lane guidance work?

The feature uses Google’s in-device functionality artificial intelligence to understand exactly which lane the car is in by reading lane markings, traffic signs and other visual cues with a forward-facing camera. This is merged with Google Maps navigation data to produce clear visual reminders and audio alerts when it’s time to pass.

Imagine a four-lane highway where your navigation says there will be an exit in half a mile. Rather than looking at a central screen or your smartphone in a holder and guessing an intersection at the last moment, the lane layout appears where your eyes are already placed.

Each lane for the chosen route is highlighted and the system indicates which lane the car is currently in. If you’re in the wrong lane, for example, the HUD shows you immediately and gives you an audio nudge to move, giving you plenty of time to react. Instead of spotting the exit at the last second, you get a clear visual that you’re two lanes away from where you need to be, and you make the change well before the intersection appears.

This turns a potential last-minute rush into a calm, early correction. Although such mistakes are not common in fields you are familiar with, they are all too easy to make in unfamiliar environments. Automotive and technology reviewer Mark Ellis says features like this would also be useful when you’re driving in another country and “don’t know the rules or disciplines of the road.”

This new feature is a collaboration between Polestar and Google. The car brand emphasizes that this is part of a long-standing commitment to make driving calmer, safer and more predictable.

Meanwhile, the search giant sees the rollout as a landmark moment for in-vehicle navigation and AI.

Polestar is the first automotive brand to integrate this version of the technology into a production vehicle. The brand’s broader strategy has been to continue offering over-the-air upgrades that add new features long after the car leaves the factory.

The new over-the-air lane guidance system will begin arriving via an over-the-air software update to Polestar 4 owners in the United States and Sweden in the coming months. Other markets and route types will follow.