Mercedes Benz shows off self driving car technology in its new 100 000 S Class
Google has been�pushing self-driving car technology�for much of the last few years, and Audi showed off its own self-driving vehicle�at the last CES, and now Mercedes-Benz is throwing its hat into the ring.�According to�The New York Times,�the automaker showed off its �virtual chauffer� technology in its new $100,00 S-Class in Hamburg, Germany � it�s a car that Mercedes-Benz says can steer itself in city traffic or keep it in its lane going over 120MPH on a highway, under the right conditions.
It can also park itself, brake automatically to avoid hitting pedestrians or other cars, and can even tell when a driver is becoming dangerously fatigued. Mercedes compared it to a plane�s autopilot system, in which the plane can perform many of the routine tasks necessary to get it from point A to point B while a human keeps its eye on things to watch out for trouble.
Of course, this is just the beginning � the automaker wants to make the car smart enough to safely change lanes while cruising at Autobahn speeds. While the tech Mercedes-Benz is packing into this vehicle is undoubtably impressive, we�re still a long ways from this car actually driving itself. Users will be required by law to keep at least one hand on the wheel at all times, so owners won�t exactly be able to just kick back and read the paper on their commute. Still, with major corporations like Google, Audi, and now Mercedes-Benz making autonomous cars a priority, there�s a chance that we�ll see automakers meet that�three- to five-year timeline�Google is shooting for.
- SOURCE�THE NEW YORK TIMES�MERCEDES-BENZ
Mercedes-Benz shows off self-driving car technology in its new $100,000 S-Class