Mercedes‑Benz introduced that its DRIVE PILOT system for SAE Degree 3 conditionally automated driving obtained certification from California state authorities. With this vital milestone Mercedes-Benz is the primary automotive producer with authorization to introduce such a SAE Degree 3 system in a standard-production automobile to be used on public freeways in essentially the most populous state in the USA.
DRIVE PILOT will likely be accessible within the U.S. market as an choice for mannequin 12 months 2024 Mercedes‑Benz S-Class and EQS Sedan fashions, with the primary vehicles delivered to clients in late 2023. The state of Nevada already confirmed the compliance of the system with state rules in January 2023, and Mercedes‑Benz has the ambition to additional increase availability of this groundbreaking system to extra markets sooner or later.
“Mercedes-Benz DRIVE PILOT is the world’s solely SAE Degree 3 system with internationally legitimate kind approval. It builds on a really sturdy basis, setting new business requirements. DRIVE PILOT makes use of a extremely refined automobile structure primarily based on redundancy with a large number of sensors enabling snug and protected conditionally automated driving. The certification by the authorities in California and in Nevada as soon as once more confirms that redundancy is the protected and thus the proper strategy,” mentioned Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Administration of Mercedes‑Benz Group AG, Chief Know-how Officer, chargeable for Growth and Procurement.
DRIVE PILOT: SAE Degree 3 system for conditionally automated driving
Throughout a conditionally automated journey, DRIVE PILOT permits the driving force to take their thoughts off the site visitors and concentrate on sure secondary actions. When DRIVE PILOT is lively, purposes might be enabled on the automobile’s built-in central show which might be in any other case blocked whereas driving.
On appropriate freeway sections and the place there may be excessive site visitors density, DRIVE PILOT can supply to take over the dynamic driving process, as much as speeds of 40 mph. The management buttons required for this are situated on the steering wheel rim, on the left and proper above the thumb recesses. As soon as circumstances are appropriate, the system signifies availability on the management buttons. When the driving force prompts DRIVE PILOT, the system controls the velocity and distance, and effortlessly guides the automobile inside its lane. The route profile, occasions occurring on the route and site visitors indicators are correspondingly considered. The system additionally reacts to sudden site visitors conditions and handles them independently by means of evasive maneuvers throughout the lane or by braking maneuvers for instance.
If the driving force fails to take again management even after more and more pressing prompting and expiration of the takeover time (e.g., on account of a extreme well being downside), the system brakes the automobile to a standstill in a managed method whereas partaking the hazard warning lights. As soon as the automobile has come to a standstill, the Mercedes‑Benz emergency name system is activated and the doorways are unlocked to make sure the automobile is accessible for first responders.
Redundancy as key enabler for protected operation
The highest precedence for Mercedes‑Benz when introducing any such system is security, which incorporates excessive calls for on operational reliability. DRIVE PILOT builds on the encompass sensors of the Driver Help Package deal and includes extra sensors that Mercedes‑Benz considers indispensable for protected conditionally automated driving. These embody LiDAR, in addition to a digital camera within the rear window and microphones for detecting emergency automobiles, in addition to a street wetness sensor within the wheel properly.
A automobile outfitted with the elective DRIVE PILOT system additionally has redundant steering and braking actuators and a redundant on-board electrical system, in order that it stays maneuverable even when considered one of these methods fails and a protected handover to the driving force might be ensured.
Outlook into the long run: Cooperation is a necessary a part of Mercedes-Benz’s technique
Mercedes-Benz is specializing in SAE Degree 3 conditionally automated driving with the last word purpose of driving at speeds of as much as 80 mph (130 km/h) in its remaining iteration. Extra redundancy in sensing modalities will be sure that the system meets the best Mercedes-Benz security requirements. To attain this final purpose, the corporate has partnered with sturdy gamers like NVIDIA and Luminar, that are good additions to the present roster of first-class cooperations with main and slicing–edge tech-companies.
This newest vital achievement of SAE Degree 3 by Mercedes-Benz marks an enormous milestone for automated driving and partnerships will enhance the corporate’s degree of ambition relating to what is feasible in future.
Jun 9, 2023