Meet The Standards, Mercedes-Benz Autonomous Driver System Officially Present In US Region

JAKARTA - Mercedes-Benz recently announced that the "Drive Pilot" feature, the German manufacturer's SAE level 3 automatic driving system, has met certification from the California state authorities.

The manufacturer nicknamed "Silver Arrow" became the first automaker to introduce the SAE Level 3 system in a standard production vehicle for use on public expressways in the United States' most populous states.

DRIVE PILOT uses a very sophisticated vehicle architecture based on redundancy with many sensors that allows comfortable and safe conditional automatic driving. Certification by authorities in California and in Nevada once again confirms that redundancy is a safe and precise approach," said Markus Schafer, Chief Technology Officer of Mercedes-Benz in his official statement, Friday, June 9.

With this system, it is possible for drivers to divert their driving activities with side activities. When the Pilot Drive is enabled, this system will take over driving tasks dynamically.

With Drive Pilot, the car can be driven up to 64 km/hour. The control button needed for the Drive Pilot is located on the steering wheel. When the control button is pressed, the system will control the speed, distance, and easily guide the vehicle on the track.

The system can also react with unexpected traffic situations and handle them on its own by maneuvering avoiding or by braking.

Mercedes-Benz's goal of developing the system is for safety, by offering high technology on the feature. The pilot is built on a surround sensor from the Driver Assistance Package and consists of additional sensors needed for safe auto driving.

Even though the Drive Pilot is currently relatively sophisticated, Mercedes is not satisfied. The manufacturer based in Stuttgart, Germany, has a target of this car feature reaching 130 km/hour.

To achieve this goal, Mercedes formed partnerships with well-known technology companies such as Nvidia and Luminar, by increasing feature capabilities to meet higher safety standards.