The world’s first L3 autonomous drivingMass production in the United States: A Mercedes-Benz was driving on the highway in Los Angeles. The driver finished replying to emails in the car and then watched a short video without paying any attention to the situation outside the car. When competitors are eager to click 10,000+++ on the back of L2, Mercedes-Benz L3 autonomous driving systemDriverPilotMass production is on the way.
Allows the driver to take his or her hands off the steering wheel, even if there is an accident, L3 will be responsible on behalf of the car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz.
Image source: Kristen Korosec
Judging from the experience results,"Nanny-level prerequisites"It is not a big problem to cope with highway conditions under the support.
Mercedes-Benz also made it clear earlier that its L3 autonomous driving will enter the Chinese market.
How does DriverPilot perform specifically?
Can you hold on to China’s road conditions?
01
The world's first L3 autonomous driving mass production is on the road
The experience section is Los Angeles Highway 10, and experiencers and Mercedes-Benz representatives get on the bus together.
When the vehicle started driving, the speed was relatively fast. The vehicle still used the L2 assisted driving system and was in adaptive cruise state.
When there is a traffic jam, the speed of the vehicle slows downdown to 60km/hNext, a glowing white bar will appear at the DriverPilot button on the steering wheel. This is a system prompt to the driver that L3 autonomous driving can be used.
With a quick tap of the button, the light bar turns green and the driver can take their hands off the wheel.
At this time, you can choose to relax, use the central control screen to watch short videos, or play Landlords, no problem.
Of course, if you want, you can even... work overtime from the driver's seat.
Although the system during the launch of DriverPilotAllow drivers to take their eyes off the road, without issuing any warning, but the camera will still monitor the driver's eye and head movements, and it will not work if you doze off or turn your head to chat with the rear passengers for a long time.
In-car cameras must be able to monitor the driver's face at all times to ensure the driver can take over immediately.
During the entire experience process, DriverPilot continued to go online and offline due to changes in road conditions. When the system was switched, experiencers commented that the transition was smooth.
Under what circumstances will DriverPilot ask the driver to take over?
Common ones include driving at a speed exceeding the 60km/h required by the system, encountering an ambulance or fire truck, and entering a construction area.
There are also some small probability events, such as pedestrians or bicycles on the highway.
If the driver does not respond within 10 seconds, DriverPilot will pull the vehicle to the side of the road and call emergency services.
Now, everyone should be able to feel that the current L3 level autonomous driving of Mercedes-Benz is very similar to learning to ride a bicycle as a child. It seems that the ride is stable, but it is inseparable from "mother's hands supporting the back".
DriverPilot has a lot of requirements.
02
DriverPilot system requirements
Mainly introduces the system activation prerequisites and hardware configuration.
Some electric vehicle owners always complain that they have bought an "electric dad", and DriverPilot is simply the "smart driving grandpa". There are many prerequisites for the system to go online:
Rely on centimeter-level high-precision maps
speedNo higher than 60km/h
Driving sectionLane markings must be clearhighway
weatherIt must be a sunny day with good light
Navigation data approved by local authorities
aboveAll are necessary conditions, don’t even think about activating DriverPilot if you don’t have one.
No wonder Mercedes-Benz is so confident that it will be L3 classIf anything happens, it's my car factory's fault.. And according to Mercedes-Benz, there have been no accidents since it was launched in Germany for more than a year.
In terms of system hardware configuration, there are 1 lidar (from Valeo), 12 ultrasonic radars, 6 cameras, 5 millimeter wave radars, GPS positioning and 1 microphone. The vehicle vault is also equipped with a road moisture sensor.
Mercedes-Benz currently plans to put DriverPilot on the 2024 Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Mercedes-Benz EQS. It requires an annual subscription when purchasing a car. It is unclear whether buyout will be supported.
Mercedes-Benz also only disclosed the first-year subscription fee, which is priced at US$2,500, equivalent to RMBAbout 18,200 yuan.
If you want to continue subscribing later, the price may change.
At the same time, Mercedes-Benz also plans to launch a unique turquoise color to remind surrounding vehicles that DriverPilot is active.
The implementation of L3 autonomous driving requires approval from relevant departments. Apart from its home base in Germany, Mercedes-Benz currently has only two regions in the United States that have passed approval: California and Nevada. Chief Technology Officer Markus Schaefer also said:
We will challenge Tesla's FSD.
Mercedes-Benz has also made it clear that, following the United States and Germany, it is promoting the entry of the L3 level DrivePilot system into the Chinese market.
Of course, that doesn’t mean it can enter if it wants to. Previously, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology only expressed support for L3 commercial use:
Pilots for the access and on-road access of intelligent connected vehicles will be launched, and city-level demonstration applications of "vehicle-road-cloud integration" will be organized to support conditional autonomous driving.
What we are talking about here is the commercial application of L3 and higher-level autonomous driving functions..
usThis work has already been initiated and local governments are actively responding.
As far as Mercedes-Benz's current system is concerned, it is really good when you are stuck on the highway during holidays. You can take your hands off the steering wheel and watch a video or fight with a landlord without getting too irritated.
However, there are too many requirements for the system to go online, and nanny-level support conditions bring a short-term hands-free experience.