Mercedes-Benz Beat Tesla to Cheap, Hands-Free Driving

Here's what MB says in their press release:

> If the driver fails to take back control even after increasingly urgent prompting and expiration of the takeover time (e.g., due to a severe health problem), the system brakes the vehicle to a standstill in a controlled manner while engaging the hazard warning lights.

From the CA DMV:

> Mercedes-Benz is the fourth company to receive an autonomous vehicle deployment permit in California and the first authorized to sell or lease vehicles with an automated driving system to the public.

I can't tell from that if it's stating what MB is actually doing or if that's just a technical loophole in the UNECE definition.

Said Ars comment comes from someone whose history is openly pro Tesla, pro Musk and denigrating of any competitors, offers no sources, and is in contradiction to numerous other sources.

Can you please fact check that statement? No source or quote was provided and I see no mention in the regulation.

Here is the regulation they are talking about: https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/ECE-TRANS-WP.2...

On page 17, Section 5.4 they discuss: "Transition demand and system operation during transition phase".

In Section 5.4.3: "During the transition phase the system shall continue to operate."

In Section 5.4.3.2: "During the transition phase, the transition demand shall be escalated latest after 4 s after the start of the transition demand."

In Section 5.4.4: "A transition demand shall only be terminated once the system is deactivated or a minimum risk manoeuvre has started."

In Section 5.4.4.1: "In case the driver is not responding to a transition demand by deactivating the system (either as described in paragraph 6.2.4., or 6.2.5.), a minimum risk manoeuvre shall be started, earliest 10 s after the start of the transition demand."

In Section 5.5: "Minimum Risk Manoeuvre"

In Section 5.5.1: "The minimum risk manoeuvre shall bring the vehicle to a standstill unless the system is deactivated by the driver during the manoeuvre."

In Section 5.5.3: "A minimum risk manoeuvre shall only be terminated once the system is deactivated or the system has brought the vehicle to a standstill."

In Section 6.2.4: "It shall be possible to manually deactivate..."

In Section 6.2.5: "In addition to paragraph 6.2.4, the system shall not be deactivated by any driver input other than those described below..."

In Section 6.2.5.1.: "Deactivation by input to driving controls..."

In Section 6.2.5.2: "Deactivation during an ongoing transition demand or an ongoing minimum risk manoeuvre. In case a transition demand or minimum risk manoeuvre is on-going, the system shall only be deactivated: (a) As defined in paragraph 6.2.5.1. or (b) Upon detection that the driver has taken hold of the steering control as a response to the transition demand or minimum risk manoeuvre and provided the system confirms the driver is attentive as defined in paragraph 6.3.1.1."

So, the car remains in control during hand-off until a driver actively takes back control. The hand-off process must last a minimum of 10 seconds where the car is expected to operate as normal. In the event that the driver does not take control, the car is required to automatically come to a stop without relinquishing control. At no point can the car automatically transfer control to the driver except after fully executing a minimum risk manoeuvre and coming to a halt, or if a emergency manoeuvre is required (at which point the emergency manoeuvre system is in control).

According to this it won't change lanes either and costs $2,500...

https://electrek.co/2023/09/27/hands-off-with-the-first-true...

>This brings up a potential ownership consideration: You might want to keep the navigation lady’s voice turned on to warn you if you’re going to miss your exit, as one thing level 3 won’t do is change lanes.

>The system will be available on Mercedes’ EQS and S-Class (but who would want that one? it runs on gas, yuck) in the US later this year. Significant hardware is required and can’t be retrofitted, so you’ll need to get a level 3-capable car on purchase. The hardware itself won’t change the vehicle’s price, but using the system requires a subscription, which costs $2,500 for the first year. Mercedes hasn’t yet committed to prices for subsequent years.

If, as another commenter said, this is only for use on freeways, I’m not sure how than is any different from the system in my 2021 BMW. Is MB’s assumption of liability the only thing pushing it up to L3? Otherwise the capabilities sound identical.

…also can’t be a construction zone.

Since all the premapped routes are highways with speeds well above 40 mph and given that a “follow car” must be directly ahead of it, this is just for highway traffic jams under ideal conditions. Useful but very limited.

Disagree that camera only will prove to be a mistake. Vision is how every car is operated and avoiding additional sensors simplifies development, reduces cost improving scalability.

Elon Musk was the best snake oil salesman in the world.

This Mercedes Benz press release, "our revolutionary world first highway driving stack is gonna change the world," has real Elon-Musk-of-10-years-ago energy to it.

Meanwhile, Tesla FSD is driving a million miles per day around town, not playing follow-the-leader on a highway.

I find one of these significantly more impressive than the other.

I was a car mechanic for 2 years, have re-built several engines, and I love my model 3 and fully believe it's one of the best possible cars for the average consumer. I also love my Civic SI, but my wife feels safer in the Telsa. She couldn't tell you the first thing Musk has been up to in the last 10 years. It's not one of the best selling cars in the country due to celebrity worship.

"Everyone else is stupid and I'm smart" is not exactly the rock-solid argument you might think it is.

It will never stop being surprising to me to see, on HackerNews, such baseless vitriol.

I'm impressed by how much fun it is to drive.

I think the difference here is assumption of liability so you won’t have as many nannycams and nag screens. My partners Subaru with adaptive cruise control and lane assist can essentially navigate the scenario they describe without a driver. However, if the car detects your eyes are off the road for more it gives you a nag prompt and more importantly if it detects your hands are off the wheel for more than a few seconds it turns off the assists. The hand detection isn’t just a simple sensor either, it checks for steering wheel inputs from the user and if it doesn’t get any it assumes you’ve let go (which is annoying if you’re driving down a long straight road)

I assume this ultimately is just an expensive way to relax these requirements?

Plenty of cars have a "traffic jam pilot" feature that seems indistinguishable from this. I don't get the hype behind this announcement.