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Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

thedetroitbureau.com

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Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#71

Post by fweimer »

daenz wrote: post #29
gitfan86 wrote: post #10

"it's geofenced to certain roads, and only work under 40mph", " you should not use this in the rain" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMNnOosjrBo&ab_channel=Engad...

I wonder if 40mph is a magic number that is a good tradeoff between speed and survivability (and injury-related out-of-court settlements)

It's translated from 60 kph. Apparently, the current system is restricted to German highways. Those are limited to vehicles which can go at least as fast as 60 kph, and this might be where this number comes from. It's basically the slowest highway speed at which there is no controversy about legality. Targeting highways first makes sense from a complexity and data quality perspective.

Although driving at 60 kph on German highways seems quite risky; at that speed, most trucks will overtake you.

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#72

Post by freeflight »

pojzon wrote: post #2

If tesla still has issues with self-driving cars and they are like a decade if not more ahead of everyone else. I dont believe this PR stunt.

> I dont believe this PR stunt.

PR stunts usually don't come with official regulatory approval, tho they commonly come with grand promises [0] and the actual product not living up to them [1]

[0] https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53418069

[1] https://www.vice.com/en/article/3aqevk/the-government-is-fin...

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#73

Post by ksubedi »

What most people here complaining about the "40 mph" limit do not realize is that below 40mph is where it's hardest to implement proper self driving, as majority of below 40mph driving will be in city streets with pedestrians, frequent turns and more variables. Anything higher will generally be in highways where lane assist cruise control systems are already more than good enough.

I will gladly take a system that can drive itself confidently under 40mph in city, and use basic lane assist (and maybe lane changes and exit ramps like in Teslas) for highways. Cant wait!

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#74

Post by kube-system »

gitfan86 wrote: post #10

"it's geofenced to certain roads, and only work under 40mph", " you should not use this in the rain" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMNnOosjrBo&ab_channel=Engad...

Breadth of operating conditions is a trade off with reliability of operation. It’s possible to do a lot of things okay, or a couple things perfectly, but not yet possible to do a lot of things perfectly.

When you remove the driver from the equation, the requirement for reliability goes up.

There’s going to come a day when Tesla is forced to make difficult decisions about their “FSD” system. They’re either going to be requiring human supervision for a long time, or they’re going to have to start pulling features.

I’m glad to see other manufacturers taking a different approach and actually start working on features good enough to qualify for SAE level 3 operation.

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#75

Post by vanviegen »

amelius wrote: post #67

What I don't get: if deep learning can recognize a crosswalk with 99.99% accuracy, that's very impressive. Yet it is not enough.

Do human drivers spot crosswalks in time with higher accuracy? That seems very unlikely to me.

Still, as long as the driver (human or otherwise) sees the pedestrian and vice versa, an accident can usually be avoided, with perhaps some angry shouting.

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#76

Post by slg »

davidvarela_us wrote: post #33
lorenzfx wrote: post #20

While the specs sound very underwhelming at first (geo-fenced on some roads, very low speeds, no bad weather), they seem to be so confident in their system, that they will take responsibility for the car when in autopilot. AFAIK, no other manufacturer does this for their systems (which capabilities they often make rather wild claims about).

few things inspire confidence like companies putting their literal money where their mouth is

But haven't we all seen Fight Club? It isn't a question a confidence, it is a question of financial math.

This decision tells us nothing about the safety of the Mercedes system compared to its competitors. All it tells us is that adding these limitations to ensure the system is only used in the safest possible scenarios makes taking over liability more reasonable. That isn't surprising. Their competitors' systems are also very safe if used in this manner. The only difference is that the competitors are not satisfied with releasing a system with enough limitations that it only works in stop-and-go highway traffic in clear weather. It is that added functionality that is more dangerous and the reason other manufacturers don't take on liability.

Odds are the marketing and accounting wings of Mercedes had just as much if not more influence on this decision than the tech team.

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#77

Post by another_story »

filoleg wrote: post #38
na85 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think Teslas driven by fleeing fugitives, OJ Simpson style, can't be remotely commandeered or disabled, then I have a bridge to sell you. Geofencing is a big part of the dystopia that the Valley crowd is getting paid a small fortune to shove down our throats.

> If you think Teslas driven [...] can't be remotely commandeered or disabled, then I have a bridge to sell you. I wonder how this is even remotely possible, given that Teslas can easily operate fully offline (which they frequently do in areas with poor cell reception). You can just build a small faraday cage encasing the modem so that it cannot receive signal, and you are good to go. Also, I don't think that the dri…

The point they're making is that this is coming and the groundwork is already being laid, both legally and technologically.

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#78

Post by MBCook »

a-dub wrote: post #23

there should be a qualification level for vehicles that can fully self drive at low speeds in heavy traffic on the highway so you can nap through traffic jams and then later enjoy your performance automobile by driving it yourself when it's clear. half the point of fancy cars is that they're fun to drive.

I think that may be level 4, but I’m not sure.

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#79

Post by mtlynch »

gitfan86 wrote: post #39
na85 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think Teslas driven by fleeing fugitives, OJ Simpson style, can't be remotely commandeered or disabled, then I have a bridge to sell you. Geofencing is a big part of the dystopia that the Valley crowd is getting paid a small fortune to shove down our throats.

OJ Simpson, the man that the police forced to stop fleeing under threat of deadly violence? Are you trying to scare people that their car may be disabled, when those same people already live in a society where police shoot and kill and pit maneuver drivers? Wouldn't you rather have the car stop safely, instead of being pit maneuvered and flipped into a ditch?

OJ Simpson, the man that the police forced to stop fleeing under threat of deadly violence?

That didn't happen. Police followed OJ for 50 miles and ultimately let him drive safely to his house.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson_murder_case#Br...

Re: Mercedes-Benz says Level 3 self-driving option ready to roll

#80

Post by riotnrrd »

Youden wrote: post #70
KaoruAoiShiho wrote: post #49

This is powered by nvidia i think: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2021/04/16/mercedes-benz-eqs-h... This means if mercedes have it, so will many other automakers since nvidia sells to everyone.

The linked blog post seems to show off hardware but the software is all Mercedes, no? In that case automakers wouldn't be able to buy the self-driving capability from NVIDIA.

NVIDIA has a large autonomous vehicle software team and releases public products (such as Driveworks: https://developer.nvidia.com/drive/driveworks) as well as custom products for specific clients.
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