Mercedes is allowed to offer highly automated driving

"An important step on the way to autonomous driving: The German Federal Motor Transport Authority (the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA)) approves the “Drive Pilot” from Mercedes.

 

The driver can take his hands off the wheel up to a speed of 60 kilometers per hour.

 

Mercedes-Benz was the first car manufacturer in the world to receive approval for highly automated driving. With the permission of the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA), the company can initially install the previously announced "Drive Pilot" in the S-Class luxury sedan and its electric equivalent, the EQS, as Daimler's car subsidiary Mercedes-Benz announced on Thursday. It is the world's first type approval based on the internationally regulated safety requirements, explained the KBA. The German authority thus set international standards on the way to fully autonomous driving. 

 

The license enables a driver to take their hands off the wheel and do other things.

 

"We call it preparing the moon landing for a paradigm shift in mobility," said Mercedes head of development Markus Schäfer. This was achieved after a great deal of in-house software development and many, many tests, as well as with immense technical effort in the vehicle.

 

A lot of effort for high security

 

According to the technical specifications of the United Nations (UN rule 157), the use of the automatic lane keeping system is limited to a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour on motorway-like roads, explained the KBA. In Germany it covers all motorways. 

 

The application is therefore limited to high traffic volumes and traffic jams on motorways. The driver must be ready at all times to pick up the steering wheel again when prompted by the system - for example, to move to the side when an emergency vehicle approaches. 

 

The approval for Mercedes is an important first step on the way to automation, said KBA President Richard Damm. The security of the new technology is the central point, because it requires the trust of consumers.

 

In order to meet the strict requirements, a car is equipped with lidar and radar sensors as well as cameras, as Schäfer further explained. Of the redundant systems that work in the same way, at least two must always work so that the driver can let go of the wheel. "The path we choose is a very complex one, in that we focus on maximum safety," said Schäfer.

 

In the next step, the top speed should increase to up to 130 km / h and automatic lane change for overtaking should be possible. But there is still no legal basis for this. The regulators initially wanted to gain experience with the technology that is now possible. Fully autonomous driving also turned out to be unexpectedly difficult, said Schäfer.

 

That is not to be expected until the middle or the end of this decade. “The benefits of automated driving are extreme, I am convinced that it will continue.” There is also business potential for carmakers with digital services, for example for entertainment or shopping while driving.

 

The market launch in S-Class models in Germany is planned for the first half of 2022, Schäfer continued. In other countries, additional laws would have to be passed that clarify the area of ​​application and liability issues. Because for the first time liability is transferred from the driver to the vehicle, i.e. to the automobile manufacturer.

 

He doesn't see any major obstacles to regulation coming in Europe, China and the USA so that Mercedes can offer the technology everywhere. Schäfer has not yet named a price for the “Drive Pilot”. But customers are likely to be willing to buy and accept prices. That was already shown by the unexpectedly high demand for the "Hyperscreen" display that extends over the entire front."

 

The requirement to use two data collection systems is clearly directed against the American company Tesla, which now uses only optical cameras, having abandoned the radars it had tried before. The collection of the largest possible amount of data from autonomous vehicles is very useful, including for the development of the military industry. Therefore, all countries are pushing into this area, trying to be the first, and competing ruthlessly.