The Rivian R1T electric pickup's Gear Guard theft-protection system bets on cables, cameras, and a Yeti sentinel

Rivian, the R1T electric pickup maker, has posted a video explaining its new Gear Guard vehicle protection system that will act as a watchful sentry once your R1T deposit finally transforms into an electric truck in the driveaway.  The Gear Guard protection system relies on five cameras which together can form a full 360-degree view of the R1T's surroundings. There are two cameras in the mirrors, one in the bumper at the front, one in the back above the license plate, and a fifth one that is observing everything happening in the R1T's truck bed. These cameras are dedicated exclusively to the Gear Guard theft-protection system, while the R1T has six more for semi-autonomous driving tasks and road duties.

Using these five cameras all around the electric pickup, the Gear Guard protection system records any nearby human activity in 30-second bursts which are carefully tagged by date, time, and location. The footage can then be previewed on the R1T's central console. The fun part of the Gear Guard system, however, is its virtual sentinel called Yeti which pops up on the central display whenever someone approaches to let them know they are being watched. Needless to say, if anyone approaches with more nefarious purposes and triggers the electric truck's alarm, the owner will be notified directly via the Rivian app. The idea is not unlike Tesla's Sentry Mode HAL 3000 character of yesteryear but seems to be more family-oriented and kid-friendly.

The other part of the R1T's Gear Guard theft-protection kit is physical and includes a nylon-clad braided steel cable that will be available in 8-foot and 14-foot versions. With the Gear Guard cable, the Rivian R1T truck owner can attach larger objects securely to the truck bed to prevent theft or roll. According to Larry Parker, Rivian's Executive Creative Director and Erik Glaser, its Principal UX Designer:

There’s all sorts of things in the vehicle that came out of just observing people... Gear Guard really started with an understanding that our customers were very likely to take mountain bikes or road bikes somewhere. And so thinking of the bike really led to this discussion around the cable.

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