With new and considerably extended driving assistance functions, the new Mercedes S-Class will this autumn be taking a major step towards autonomous driving.
Active Distance Assist Distronic and Active Steering Assist now support the driver even more conveniently in keeping a safe distance and steering, and the vehicle speed is now also automatically adjusted in bends and at road junctions. Also on board are Active Emergency Stop Assist and a considerably improved Active Lane Change Assist.
“The new S-Class raises Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive to the next level,” says Dr Michael Hafner, head of automated driving and active safety at Mercedes Benz.
“We are approaching the goal of automated driving more purposefully and faster than many people suspect. From the autumn, the new S-Class will be able to support its driver considerably better than all systems which have been available to date.”
With the new driving assistance generation autonomous driving is becoming yet more tangible. The scope of automated driving functions has been expanded in line with practical needs and now provides further enhanced, tangible customer benefits on virtually all types of road.
Thanks to enhanced camera and radar systems, the new S-Class has an even better view of the traffic situation. In addition, for the first time it makes use of map and navigation data to calculate driving behaviour. The driver is also able to see at a glance which assistance functions have been selected, and to which situations the systems are reacting at present.
Clearly understood icons – a steering wheel with hands on both sides – give information both on the screen and in the head-up display. All functions are now controlled from the steering wheel. As a pioneer of automotive safety, Mercedes-Benz says that it pursues research in this field with a rigour unmatched by any other car brand.
“We have always programmed the software for the assistance functions in-house. This means that we are able to implement new ideas very quickly,” Dr Hafner concluded.
