The Drive Pilot semi-autonomous driving system by Mercedes-Benz has been cleared by German federal motor transport authority (KBA) to be provided for public sale, the automaker has stated in an announcement. This makes Mercedes-Benz the primary automaker to fulfill the authorized necessities of UN-R157 for a Level 3 autonomous driving system, it says.
In phrases of series-production automobiles, Drive Pilot was introduced with the debut of the W223 S-Class, which Mercedes-Benz stated on the time can be licensed for Level 3 hands-free driving this yr. With Drive Pilot now assembly the authorized necessities, the primary models of the W223 S-Class with Drive Pilot shall be delivered in the primary half of 2022.
The opening of the Road Traffic Act in Germany for Level 3 programs in 2017 enabled the nation to create a authorized foundation for the supposed use of those autonomous driving programs, although the technical approval regulation with which the system might be licensed didn’t take impact till the start of this yr, stated Mercedes-Benz.
Drive Pilot will initially be provided on 8,197 miles (13,115 km) of highways in Germany, and intensive check drives are already being carried out for the programs in different markets, reminiscent of China and the United States. The know-how shall be rolled out in extra areas as quickly as there’s a nationwide authorized framework in place for conditional automated operation in extra markets, the automaker stated.
On appropriate stretches of freeway when visitors density is excessive, drivers can elect for Drive Pilot to take over driving, initially at a legally permitted pace restrict of 60 km/h. This then allows the driving force to carry out minor duties on the central show reminiscent of speaking through In-Car Office. Applications which can be usually blocked on the central show when driving might be enabled in Drive Pilot mode.
Drive Pilot-equipped fashions such because the S-Class even have supplemental steering and braking programs in addition to a supplemental onboard electrical system in order for the car to stay manoeuvrable, even when one of many programs fail, thus making certain protected handover of car operation to the driving force might be carried out.
If the driving force fails to retake management of the car even after repeated and more and more pressing prompting, reminiscent of in the occasion of a extreme well being drawback, the system will sluggish the car to a standstill in a managed method with appropriate deceleration. Once at a halt, the car will unlock its doorways and home windows to allow easy accessibility for any first responders on the scene.
“With this milestone, we are once again proving our pioneering work in automated driving and also initiating a radical paradigm shift. For the first time in 136 years of automotive history, the vehicle takes over the dynamic driving task under certain conditions,” stated Mercedes-Benz chief know-how officer Markus Schäfer.
