Mercedes-Benz recently announced that it will launch a new version of the Level 3 conditional autonomous driving 2 DRIVE PILOT driving system in Germany. The upgrade, which supports speeds of up to 95 km/h on highways, will significantly improve the customer experience and will be available for delivery in early 2025. CUSTOMER VEHICLES THAT ARE ALREADY EQUIPPED WITH DRIVE PILOT CAN BE UPGRADED FREE OF CHARGE. Depending on the model, the upgrade can be done via OTA or return to the factory, without the need to replace any vehicle components. The Mercedes-Benz DRIVE PILOT system will be the fastest Level 3 conditional autonomous driving system in the world's production vehicles.
Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Directors and Chief Technology Officer for Development and Purchasing at Mercedes-Benz Group AG, said: "The DRIVE PILOT upgrade once again proves that Mercedes-Benz is a leader in the field of autonomous driving. Under certain conditions on the motorways in Germany, customers will soon be able to turn on conditional autonomous driving of up to 95 km/h. This will enable our customers to use their time more efficiently. Mercedes-Benz is once again setting the benchmark and steadily advancing the development of autonomous driving technology. ”
Mercedes-Benz has nearly 40 years of experience in autonomous driving research and development. In 2021, it won the world's first international certification for a Level 3 conditional autonomous driving system in Germany, and in 2022, it was the first to launch a model equipped with this system in Germany. In the first half of 2023, the Level 3 autonomous driving system was commercially licensed in Nevada and California in the United States.
In China, Mercedes-Benz continues to expand its local R&D investment, deeply participates in global R&D of autonomous driving and intelligent driving, and contributes to the development of China's intelligent networked vehicle industry. In 2023, Mercedes-Benz will be one of the first companies to be awarded the Beijing L3 conditional autonomous driving road test license; In 2024, it will become the first international car company to be approved to carry out autonomous driving tests in L4 cities and high-speed roads in Beijing at the same time, and will carry out tests on designated roads in Beijing.
Provide higher value to customers
The DRIVE PILOT system will increase the speed of the DRIVE PILOT system to provide customers with even more use cases: In the right lane of the highway, it can automatically follow the vehicle in front under certain traffic conditions. The previous option to enable the feature on congested sections of highways remains in place. During conditional autonomous driving, the system will take over driving tasks, allowing customers to use their time more efficiently and shift their attention to other operations, such as working, surfing the Internet, watching videos, playing games, etc.3
Redundant system architecture provides security
The Mercedes-Benz DRIVE PILOT system uses a redundant system architecture that provides functional redundancy of key systems such as steering, braking and on-board electrics to ensure that in the event of a system failure in extreme situations, the vehicle can still operate normally, helping the driver to take over the vehicle safely. Cameras, radar, ultrasonic sensors, and lidar perceive and process information about the vehicle's surroundings in real time. Thanks to the high-precision positioning system, vehicles equipped with DRIVE PILOT can achieve centimeter-level positioning and calculate the vehicle's position based on data received from different satellite systems.
Future plans for conditional autonomous driving
Mercedes-Benz is fast-moving research and development efforts to achieve faster travel speeds and longer takeover times. In Germany, local regulations currently allow conditional autonomous driving at a maximum speed of 130 km/h. Mercedes-Benz aims to achieve this top speed by 2030 in a step-by-step manner without sacrificing safety.