Mercedes-Benz revealed on Wednesday that American drivers would be capable of buy Drive Pilot, its Level 3 automated driving system, beginning in late 2023, making it the nation’s first automaker to take action.
“Drive Pilot is a technological game changer and incredible leap forward in the pursuit of conditionally automated driving,” mentioned Dimitris Psillakis, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA.
“This ground-breaking system reinforces our intention to lead in safety and technology, while giving precious time back to our customers during heavy traffic situations.”
Drive Pilot will likely be accessible on a small variety of EQS sedans in California and Nevada via collaborating licensed Mercedes-Benz sellers. In different states, Level 3 autonomous driving will not be permitted by legislation. Mercedes-Benz intends to increase the choice to S-Class fashions as properly within the early 2024.
Prices begin at $2,500, with different pricing choices to be introduced at a later date.
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How it really works
Drive Pilot employs LiDAR, a digicam within the rear window, microphones to establish emergency vehicles, and a street wetness sensor to direct its driving, nevertheless it could actually solely be used at speeds as much as 40 mph. In case one in every of these techniques fails, there are backup steering and braking actuators in addition to backup on-board electrical techniques.
“Drive Pilot is the world’s first and only system for conditionally automated driving with internationally valid type approval,” mentioned Markus Schäfer, Mercedes‑Benz Group’s chief expertise officer. It is engineered with a classy system structure primarily based on redundancy with many various sensor sorts.
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“I strongly believe that redundancy is key for safe automated driving for level 3 and beyond. Safety is one of Mercedes-Benz core values. Responsible handling of this technology is our top priority and the key to acceptance among customers and in society.”
High-precision international positioning expertise, stronger than conventional GPS techniques, is used to pinpoint the situation of a Drive Pilot-equipped Mercedes-Benz automobile inside a couple of inches.
In addition to the knowledge gathered by the automobile’s lidar, digicam, radar, and ultrasonic sensors, a digital HD map gives a three-dimensional illustration of the street and its environment, which is constantly up to date. Also, every automobile retains a duplicate of this map knowledge and frequently compares it with the backend knowledge, updating it when wanted.
Based on SAE J3134 Recommended Practice, Mercedes-Benz has created turquoise Automated Driving Marker Lights within the shade turquoise that point out when Drive Pilot is lively. The United States doesn’t presently have a nationwide regulatory framework in place for its use, nevertheless.
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How it differs
Drive Pilot is Level 3 autonomous driving, generally known as conditional autonomy, based on the Society of Automotive Engineers. It solely permits the automobile to drive in particular circumstances. While a driver can divert their consideration, they have to be ready to take management immediately when the automobile asks it.
Although extra subtle techniques, like Waymo and Cruise, have been licensed for ride-sharing providers, Mercedes-Benz now has a bonus over Tesla, which falsely claims that their automobiles are Level 3 self-driving when actually they don’t seem to be. All different presently obtainable autonomous driving techniques are Level 2.
And whereas Tesla, Volvo and different automakers have promised to supply competing Level 3 techniques, they’ve but to look.
Source: www.thedetroitbureau.com