Mercedes precedes Tesla. Realized Level 3 self-driving system in parts of Germany

 

Mercedes, one of the world's leading luxury car brands, has received approval from the German government to operate a hands-free autonomous driving system on public roads. The approval was given to Mercedes, not Tesla, which was the first player in autonomous driving.

This is a feat for the realization of autonomous driving, says Mack De Geurin, a reporter at Gizmodo. Let's take a concrete look at what that means!

Drivers can now use autonomous driving without touching the steering wheel

With this approval by the German government, Mercedes will be able to sell an autonomous driving package called a "drive pilot".

It can be used at a maximum speed of about 60 km / h (37 mph) on the German Autobahn. When you hear the autobahn, the speed limit is unlimited, so if you imagine 100-200km / h flashy, it may sound plain, but with the autonomous driving system, 60km / h is the starting point.

With this approval, it is more important than the Mercedes system has a Level 3 autonomous system. It means that the driver can use autonomous driving without touching the steering wheel.

Tesla still needs to have a handle

In Tesla's Level 2 system, the driver must have the steering wheel and the driver must look at the road through the windshield, but there is no end to drivers ignoring this guideline.

Autonomous driving is divided into levels, levels 1 and 2 require monitoring by the driver, and levels 3 and 5 are monitored by the system. ( Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism )

Daimler said in an announcement that it is preparing to purchase the S-Class with a drive pilot system as early as the first half of 2022.

More time to use meaningfully

This news is undeniably important. If the driver can move hands-free, he will have more time to use it meaningfully. However, Level 3 autonomous driving requires the driver to take appropriate action as required by the system. Still, the future of iPhone FaceTime video calls in a short amount of rush hour is definitely coming.

When will Tesla realize its vision?

Now let's talk about Tesla.

It's bad news for Tesla that Tesla, which should lead the future of the automotive industry in a broad sense, lags behind the 136-year-old maker Mercedes in the field of autonomous driving. Elon Musk once boasted that it would have one million robotaxis in operation by the end of 2020. How many Robotaxis are running now?

Tesla's long-term corporate vision is to achieve fully autonomous driving in the near future. The vision is that many autonomous Tesla taxis roam the city, allowing passengers to stream Netflix and play the latest patched Cyberpunk 2077. This vision should have some influence on Tesla's market capitalization of 1 trillion yen. But Tesla isn't likely to get there yet, and it's a major automaker.

Instead of over-expecting autonomous driving, let's take a closer look at the reality.

Tesla's latest driving support function is named "Full Self Driving", but the latest Tesla that actually drives on the road can only achieve level 2 independence out of 6 levels. There are many opinions among experts that level 4 independence is necessary for passengers to be able to cross their legs and relax in the car without worrying about the sudden loss of control of the car.

Waymo, Argo AI, Amazon-backed Zoom, and GM's subsidiary Cruise are competing for a Level 4 driverless car within the next few years, but I'm a little optimistic.

If you ever want to know about similar things, check out the Facebook page Maga AI