Behind the Star – Gary Anderson
Looking Into the Future
Ever since the 1953 introduction of crumple-zone engineering in the Pontons, Mercedes-Benz has always sought to be at the leading edge in automobile safety systems. This passion has never been in greater evidence than with the newest active safety systems introduced on the 2013 SL-Class, next on the 2013 M-Class, then on the 2014 E-Class, and now – as described on pages 47-50 in this issue – with Intelligent Drive on the 2014 S-Class.
When the various systems on the new S-Class are analyzed, it appears as if the company’s safety engineers have only begun to scratch the surface. Seeds in research and development of autonomous vehicles, in which Mercedes has been actively participating over the past 10 years, are now starting to bear fruit.
The key elements in building an automobile that can navigate and maneuver on its own are that it must first be intensively aware of its surroundings – sensing not only the existence and position of obstacles of any nature, but also the nature of those objects and their likely movements in the near future. Second, the vehicle has to be able to evaluate that information to identify the possibility of hitting or being hit by one of those objects. Third, the car must be able to take action without driver intervention– using acceleration, steering and braking – to avoid those collisions.
All of these basic required systems are now in place in the new S-Class. As described by M-B engineers, the S-Class can literally see 360 degrees around itself – within a perimeter that extends more than the length of two football fields in front, over 30 yards to the sides, and more than 80 yards to the rear using radar, infrared and 3-dimensional stereo-vision sensors. In addition, the vehicle can access in real time its own position and the positions and conditions of roads and destinations around it from global-position satellites and Internet mapping systems.
Likewise, the onboard electronic control units now can actuate the brakes at each wheel in any combination, turn the steering wheel, and work the accelerator as needed to change the vehicle’s speed and direction in response to analysis of external information.
The only constraints on the system’s operation are the time it will take to program the onboard computers and a buyer’s decision about the autonomous-operations options that should be installed in the car. Do we want systems that simply act as our better selves – helping us to avoid hitting or being hit by pedestrians, vehicles, and obstacles around us – or are we willing to defer completely to the vehicle and have it chauffeur us around without any intervention from us other than telling it where we want to go? I can imagine that the debate on those topics, already active on our own MBCA forums, will continue to argue to what extent and to what ends these systems are desirable.
But at the same time, the irony is that the same electronic technologies are also increasing the range of potentially distracting resources available to us in the car. As consumers, we appear to want to be able to stay connected with friends, be aware of changes in our world, and entertained non-stop – even while performing our driving duties – once considered a 100-percent engrossing task. Obviously, the same electronics that have the capacity to make driving safer can also render drivers less safe on the road.
We can only wonder which trend will dominate in the future: caring for our safety or catering to our desires for connectedness.
Looking Into the Future
Ever since the 1953 introduction of crumple-zone engineering in the Pontons, Mercedes-Benz has always sought to be at the leading edge in automobile safety systems. This passion has never been in greater evidence than with the newest active safety systems introduced on the 2013 SL-Class, next on the 2013 M-Class, then on the 2014 E-Class, and now – as described on pages 47-50 in this issue – with Intelligent Drive on the 2014 S-Class.
When the various systems on the new S-Class are analyzed, it appears as if the company’s safety engineers have only begun to scratch the surface. Seeds in research and development of autonomous vehicles, in which Mercedes has been actively participating over the past 10 years, are now starting to bear fruit.
The key elements in building an automobile that can navigate and maneuver on its own are that it must first be intensively aware of its surroundings – sensing not only the existence and position of obstacles of any nature, but also the nature of those objects and their likely movements in the near future. Second, the vehicle has to be able to evaluate that information to identify the possibility of hitting or being hit by one of those objects. Third, the car must be able to take action without driver intervention– using acceleration, steering and braking – to avoid those collisions.
All of these basic required systems are now in place in the new S-Class. As described by M-B engineers, the S-Class can literally see 360 degrees around itself – within a perimeter that extends more than the length of two football fields in front, over 30 yards to the sides, and more than 80 yards to the rear using radar, infrared and 3-dimensional stereo-vision sensors. In addition, the vehicle can access in real time its own position and the positions and conditions of roads and destinations around it from global-position satellites and Internet mapping systems.
Likewise, the onboard electronic control units now can actuate the brakes at each wheel in any combination, turn the steering wheel, and work the accelerator as needed to change the vehicle’s speed and direction in response to analysis of external information.
The only constraints on the system’s operation are the time it will take to program the onboard computers and a buyer’s decision about the autonomous-operations options that should be installed in the car. Do we want systems that simply act as our better selves – helping us to avoid hitting or being hit by pedestrians, vehicles, and obstacles around us – or are we willing to defer completely to the vehicle and have it chauffeur us around without any intervention from us other than telling it where we want to go? I can imagine that the debate on those topics, already active on our own MBCA forums, will continue to argue to what extent and to what ends these systems are desirable.
But at the same time, the irony is that the same electronic technologies are also increasing the range of potentially distracting resources available to us in the car. As consumers, we appear to want to be able to stay connected with friends, be aware of changes in our world, and entertained non-stop – even while performing our driving duties – once considered a 100-percent engrossing task. Obviously, the same electronics that have the capacity to make driving safer can also render drivers less safe on the road.
We can only wonder which trend will dominate in the future: caring for our safety or catering to our desires for connectedness.