NASA researchers know that when you settle into your seat on a commercial flight, you expect a smooth takeoff, views over the clouds, a steady descent and, hopefully, an early arrival.

Autonomous vehicles and robots need to understand not only what is around them, but how objects and people are moving. A cyclist crossing the road, a car slowing down, a pedestrian stepping off the curb, and a parked vehicle all create different motion cues that a machine must interpret quickly and accurately.

The Tesla Model Y has been the sales king of small electric SUVs since the moment it arrived. Many rivals have chased its success, but none have come close. Now it's Rivian's turn. The Rivian R2 is the California EV automaker's first small electric SUV, and it's gunning for the Model Y. Rivian's R1T truck and larger R1S SUV are excellent EVs, but their $80,000-ish price tags put them out of reach for most shoppers. At a starting price of about $45,000, the R2 is finally a Rivian many Americans can afford. To help you decide, Edmunds compared these two head-to-head to find out which is the better buy.