Marketing buzzwords and questionable advertising practices have led many to believe that self-driving cars are a real thing that people can go out and buy today. However, despite the fact that some automakers literally call their driver assistance tech “self-driving,” there are precisely zero fully autonomous cars on sale. While it will be years before truly self-driving cars become a reality, automakers are developing more advanced systems that have much of the autonomous experience with some caveats. Mercedes is set to be the first company to offer a Level 3 system, which enables hands-free driving in most situations but requires a human’s attention at all times.
The conditional automated driving system is called Drive Pilot, and it’s scheduled for a public rollout in late 2023 to owners in California and Nevada. Regulations are a significant challenge in the U.S., as each state has different rules and regulations around what’s allowed on the road. Mercedes said its initial rollout to two western states would expand to others in the future but noted the differing legal frameworks in other areas.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) splits autonomous driving systems into six levels. Level 0 involves complete human control with no computer intervention. Level 5 is complete automation, which requires no driver input. Today’s most advanced systems, including Ford’s Blue Cruise and GM’s Super Cruise, are Level 2 (partial automation), which means the vehicle can steer and handle acceleration and braking, but the human must remain alert and available to take control at any time.
Level 3 systems, also called conditional automation, control the vehicle in most situations and can detect changes in the surrounding environment. However, they still require an attentive driver to handle some tasks and emergencies. Tesla’s “full self-driving” (FSD) system, which is targeting Level 5 automation, is evolving as drivers participate in the beta program but remains stuck at Level 2. Though the automaker updates its vehicles’ capability through software updates, Level 5, the highest tier of automation, is a long way off.
[Image: Mercedes-Benz]
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via Autobuzz Today
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