The self-service car has officially arrived.
Mercedes-Benz and Bosch have had their Level 4 self-parking system approved for commercial use, allowing some owners to simply walk away from their vehicle and let the car find a parking spot in a specific parking lot in the city. Stuttgart airport.
Currently, the approval only extends to parking lot P6 at Stuttgart Airport. The self-parking system is compatible with certain S-Class and EQS models, which means that only a small group of people will initially be able to take advantage of the technology.
This is the first time that a system of this type has been approved for commercial use, rather than on a trial basis.
Using the Mercedes Me app, drivers can reserve a parking space online. When they arrive at the parking lot, they leave their car in a designated drop-off area and walk away.
When a network of sensors in the garage confirm that the coast is clear, the car drives to a predetermined location and locks into place. The process depends on the car’s self-driving technology, communicating with these external sensors to create a picture of what’s going on around it. in the parking garage.
“This way, vehicles can even go up and down ramps to move between the (sic) floors of the car park,” Mercedes-Benz explains.
“If the infrastructure sensors detect an obstacle, the vehicle brakes and stops safely. It is only once the road is clear that he continues on his way.
At the other end of the journey, owners call their vehicle via the Mercedes Me app and wait in the same drop-off area.
Beyond parking, Mercedes-Benz is pushing to deploy level 3 autonomous driving.
The German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KPA) has officially granted approval for Mercedes-Benz LiDAR’driving driver‘, but at speeds below 60 km/h.
Level 3 autonomous driving means a driver can take their hands off the wheel in certain situations like freeways and traffic jams, and even take their eyes off the road.
The system must alert the driver within a certain time if he needs to resume driving.
The automaker is initially offering its Drive Pilot system on 13,191 kilometers of German motorways.
However, Drive Pilot is initially legally permitted at speeds of up to 60 km/h and can be activated and controlled by buttons on the steering wheel.