Hands-off with the first true hands-free car in the US, and it’s not Tesla27 Sep 2023 15:31
We all Peed off about the SP & Lack of news but the most important thing in any business is
HAVE YOU GOT A GOOD PRODUCT!!!
Mercedes invited us out to Santa Monica to drive its EQS in some of the worst possible traffic conditions – and we were happy about it, because it let us test its new DRIVE PILOT system, the first actual hands-free “Level 3” autonomous drive system certified to operate in the US.
Autonomous drive systems are ranked from level 0-5, describing how much capability the system has. In general, levels 0-2 are primarily human-driven, and levels 3-5 are primarily autonomously driven.
Most manufacturers selling cars today have some sort of driver assistance system that can be categorized as level 2. Every other system in the US (except driverless taxis like Waymo/Cruise, which are geofenced level 4 systems) caps out at level 2, which means that drivers still have ultimate liability for anything that happens while they are behind the wheel.
(A note: GM calls “Super Cruise” a “hands-free” system, which does let you drive without touching the wheel, but it is still a level 2 system, and drivers must keep their eyes on the road and are still ultimately responsible for the vehicle while behind the wheel.)
But Mercedes Drive Pilot is a level 3 system – the first validated to work in the US. Mercedes described this gulf between level 2 and level 3 as a “moonshot,” a step change in how people can use their vehicles.
Imagine being happy about traffic
The first thing I did was sit in the car and… watch a seven-minute video describing Drive Pilot’s operation and limitations. Mercedes requires that all drivers watch this video before activating the system.
Then I noticed the “augmented reality heads-up display,” which was more extensive than any other heads-up display I’ve tried (and which actually worked with polarized sunglasses, well done Mercedes). The HUD shows a lot of the information that Drive Pilot is basing its decisions on, and the in-car visualization is quite detailed (compared to Tesla’s, it’s not quite as detailed/responsive, but feels less nervous/jiggly). The quality of this visualization, especially being able to see it at a glance in the window in front of you, gives a lot of confidence in the system.
Then, upon getting on the freeway and being stuck at 8 mph, the EQS quickly notified me that Drive Pilot is available by lighting up white lights on the steering wheel. The system is activated by pressing the buttons associated with the lights, then pressing “OK.” After this, the lights turn turquoise, which Mercedes has proposed as a standard “this car is using self-driving” indicator (the car is surrounded by turquoise exterior lighting, as well, so other drivers know).
https://electrek.co/2023/09/27/hands-off-with-the-first-true-hands-free-car-in-the-us-and-its-not-tesla/
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