Mercedes gets permission for L3 autonomous driving in California
With a system that includes comprehensive sensor, signal processing and actuator technology, Mercedes vehicle owners are allowed to drive on public highways and roads.
Autonomous driving at Level 3 of the SAE system means that drivers do not have to keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the steering wheel at all times – instead, they can turn their attention to other activities such as reading or checking e-mails while their car steers, accelerates, brakes, overtakes or avoids obstacles on the road largely on its own – but only within the traffic lane. If the conditions for automatic driving are no longer met, the system alerts the driver with visual and audible warnings and prompts the human driver to take back control – not necessarily immediately, but within eight seconds.
The system, which is available from Mercedes as an option called “Drive Pilot”, contains a fairly comprehensive sensor system: A lidar scans the vehicle’s surroundings as well as the relative speed of other vehicles in relation to its own. A camera is integrated into the rear window, which in conjunction with microphones detects emergency vehicles and triggers an appropriate response. In addition, a wetness sensor in the wheel arch monitors road conditions and adjusts the driving style accordingly in wet conditions. Mercedes is working closely with processor provider Nvidia to develop the system. The lidar systems have recently been sourced from Luminar; previously Valeo supplied lidars to the German carmaker.
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The special equipment also includes a redundant steering and braking system so that it remains maneuverable even in the event of a malfunction. The vehicle electrical system is also redundant within certain limits. If the driver is unable to comply with the takeover request – due to a medical emergency, for example – the system initiates a controlled emergency stop.
Unlike Waymo’s autonomous robot cabs, for example, which are already driving on inner-city roads in some cities, Mercedes’ Drive Pilot may only be operated on highways, and initially only during daylight hours and at speeds of up to 60 km/h; in its own words, Mercedes has the ambition of increasing the permissible speed on such roads to 130 km/h by the end of the decade. The system is approved for use on certain freeway-like roads in the San Francisco (including Bay Area), Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas. Mercedes had already achieved similar certification for the state of Nevada earlier this year. The system has also already been approved in Germany.
Industry observers see the permission granted by the California Highway Safety Administration as an important victory on points over major competitors: Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system, like General Motors’ “Super Cruise,” is only approved up to SAE level 2, which means that drivers must constantly monitor the traffic situation and keep their hands on the wheel. One important technical difference lies in the sensor equipment: Tesla bases its automatic system exclusively on cameras; other technologies for detecting the environment, such as lidar or radar, are not envisioned.
https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/
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