Photo: Mercedes Benz
Do you know how world-changing technologies can actually build a foothold in our society? We are not using our customers as beta testers for highly dangerous technologies. Making small progress makes a big difference. This is the tact that Mercedes-Benz has adopted in its new vehicle autonomy.
Join the Drive Pilot, the first autonomous system to receive a Level 3 rating from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe last December. Not available in the United States, but Mercedes is testing in California. The car maker has featured several car gianos to smash Los Angeles traffic to showcase the latest technology.
Drive pilots only work on well-defined, split highways, with no other obstacles such as road construction or tollhouses. It must be a day and the weather should generally be convenient for everything to work perfectly, that is the only way it works at all. The car will not change lanes or exceed 40 mph.
So a system that automatically drives a car that works on a sunny day for stop-and-go traffic? Sounds like the perfect technology for California’s infamous Santa Monica Freeway rush hour conditions. Our buds on Autoblog agree:
With the new S 580 4Matic short drive (as a passenger) along the clogged Santa Monica Freeway (aka “10”), the drive pilot system fits perfectly and acts essentially like the smartest adaptive cruise control. did. If the driver wants to compose an email or watch a video, the system allows it. You don’t have to keep the token’s finger on the wheel to avoid the warning every 15 seconds. Lucas Bolster, chief engineer for autonomous driving at our “driver” Mercedes R & D, says the drive pilot drove a 65-minute rush hour on this same road hands-free and keep an eye on it. .. In our brief demo, acceleration and braking were smooth, there were no sudden stops, and there were no ping pongs between the lane markers. It was the best driver.
At some point, the lane jumper hinted at breaking into the right rear quarter panel. The drive pilot skillfully turned to the left of the lane. The system moves the car to the farthest end of the lane sign, but does not change lanes if another car intrusion is claimed (this is a future development that Mercedes says is achievable). If a car breaks in front of you, Mercedes politely gives way. In such cases, the horn will not ring, but if the car in front decides to reverse the course towards you.
That may seem like a lot of warnings, but we were trained by those who rushed to market autonomous driving technology to think that Jetson needs to be at an efficient level right away. I did. However, these systematic safety procedures are the way real sausages are made. It also means that the operator in the driver’s seat of Mercedes can take his hand off the steering wheel and take his eyes off the road. Under these very special circumstances (sunny sunny days, less than 40 mph on well-marked highways without changing lanes), you can live your dream of real self-driving. Watch a movie, take a nap, stop and surprise other people who are suffering, and let the traffic be right next to you.
You can now operate your drive pilot on over 8,000 miles of highways in Germany. Mercedes also wants to test drive pilots 50,000 miles on US roads in California and Nevada and make them available to the public soon. And as always, there are no fully autonomous vehicles on the market today, not years. Those who say no are probably trying to sell you something for $ 12,000 or some other ridiculous amount.