TL;DR: The innovation here is that you are officially not required to hold the steering wheel. The requirement to keep your hands on the wheel is replaced by a camera that monitors your eyes to ensure that you are paying attention to the road.
capacitive sensors detect the driver’s hand(s) on the wheel, eliminating the need to wiggle it to verify control as with some lane keep assist vehicles.
Only in situations that demand manual control? I agree that the article is not crystal clear about this detail, but this is how I understand it.