Over-the-Air Updates Add Up to 95-Km/h Speed Capability for Mercedes-Benz Drive Pilot
Mercedes-Benz has a refreshed version of its Drive Pilot system on the way. Now more responsive, the improved autonomous driving technology allows speeds of up to 95 km/h on German motorways, making it the fastest Level 3 automated driving capability in production (we refer to “Level 3” as per ranks designated by the Society of Automotive Engineers).
Speaking on this development, Markus Schäfer, Chief Technology Officer at Mercedes-Benz, stated: “Mercedes-Benz reaffirms its leadership in automated driving with the new Drive Pilot.” In Germany, the situation will soon be a different one when drivers may use conditionally automated driving at speeds up to 95 km/h on German highways.
This higher speed threshold opens the door for Drive Pilot to be used in many more conditions. Drivers can rely even more on the system to take over the driving, freeing up their time for other purposes such as work or leisure.
Drive Pilot will arrive in early 2025, assuming Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority approves the necessary re-certification. Mercedes-Benz reminds the Drive Pilot system for its new cars, so current users can have this upgrade using the over-the-air capabilities or pay a visit to their local service center.
The Drive Pilot system uses a redundant architecture that includes backup steering and braking mechanisms to deliver high reliability. A comprehensive suite of cameras, radar, and ultrasonic sensors, LiDARs continually monitor the vehicle surroundings with very high precision localization with centimeter-level accuracy.
Nevertheless, Mercedes-Benz is aiming to achieve even higher vehicle speeds and longer durations of automated driving in the future. They hope to get the current legal speed limit of 130 km/h (81 mph) for conditionally automated driving in Germany ready by the end of this decade.
Mercedes has also given active automated driving its own turquoise marker lights to let other traffic know when it is in control. Though currently limited to Nevada and California, Mercedes-Benz intends to concept architecture with its system.