Mercedes gains German government approval for level 3 autonomous tech

Mercedes has secured approval from the German government to put its level 3 autonomous driving technology on the road. The system will be used to the public early next year on the new Mercedes S-Class and EQS saloons – but there’s a few caveats to the roll out.
From launch, the level 3 system (dubbed Drive Pilot) will only be available in Mercedes’s home market of Germany. motorists will also only be able to activate the technology in slow-moving traffic on the motorway at speeds of up to 60km/h (around 37mph).

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Mercedes also says that its Drive Pilot system will allow the motorist to do “ancillary tasks” on the car’s infotainment system, such as online shopping, replying to emails or enjoying a film, which is a huge leap forward in autonomous driving technology and legislation. until this point, self-driving systems have required the driver’s supervision.
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The Drive Pilot system gathers data from an variety of LiDAR sensors, cameras and GPS trackers, which keep tabs on the car’s surroundings and allow the AI to react intelligently – and, a lot more importantly, independently – to hazards such as swerving traffic or impassable congestion along the driver’s route.
There’s a moisture sensor in one of the wheel wells, so the system can keep track of the road conditions and adjust its driving style accordingly. Mercedes has even included an arsenal of microphones and a cam for the rear window, which are specifically created to detect blue light automobiles and inform the car’s AI to step aside.