Rivian has filed two patent purposes for built-in lighting within the roof rails in its electrical pickup vehicles and SUVs.

The 2 purposes present barely totally different variations of a lighting system that will be a part of the roof cross bars usually used to safe cargo. Accompanying drawings present pickup vehicles and SUVs resembling the present Rivian R1T and R1S, respectively.

Rivian roof rail lighting system patent picture (model one)

The primary utility—printed by the US Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) on Jan. 11, and filed on Sep. 12, 2022—have pretty typical trying cross bars with lights that may mission in entrance of, alongside, and behind the car. Cross bars would have a built-in electrical connection that enables the car’s battery pack to energy the lights.

These lights can be utilized for a wide range of functions, in line with Rivian. Lights on the again of the rearmost cross bar may function additional brake lights, and lights on the ends of entrance or rear cross bars might be used as flip indicators. Lights may be keyed to a car’s unlock sequence, much like the way in which headlights and taillights quickly illuminate on some automobiles once they’re unlocked.

Rivian roof rail lighting system patent picture (model two)

The second utility, which has the identical publication and submitting dates as the primary, reveals a distinct configuration for the lights. Right here, they take the type of spotlights that particularly illuminate the realm on the backside of an incline. Lights would activate routinely when the car reaches a sure downhill angle, serving to to supply higher visibility forward.

It is unclear if we’ll see both type of Rivian’s roof rail lighting system on a manufacturing car, however it would not be shocking to see a function like this on a future replace of Rivian’s R1 fashions. The automaker additionally plans to unveil the extra inexpensive R2 sequence this 12 months, though manufacturing is not scheduled to begin till 2026.