When autonomous driving becomes interesting to me
Autonomous driving. Child’s play, really.
Not technically or in regulatory terms, or we would already have it. It still hinges on sensors, real-time data processing, connectivity, behavior in exceptional situations (including the dilemmas that arise from them), legal questions.
What people often mean by it is SAE Level 5, that is, fully automated. Versus Level 4, largely automated within defined areas. Level 3 is conditionally automated—a driver has to be able to take over. Level 2 covers partial automation such as intelligent cruise control with stop and go. Level 1 can keep the lane and the distance. L0 includes only IDD and IDB: I do the driving, and I do the braking.
For future mobility concepts, L5 is a game changer. We could then do without our cars more and more often and let robo-shuttles take over the ride.
Personally, the topic becomes interesting to me once I can switch off cognitively the way I do on a train. Get in, be driven, get out relaxed. So I’m waiting for L5.
On the way there, something is happening: Mercedes is allowed to offer Level 3 in Germany: https://lnkd.in/e5hi94-J
For now in the EQS and the S-Class, well. And criticism of the top speed of 95 km/h is sure to come. It is a bit of PR, and still interesting: What matters with electric vehicles is a moderate speed in order to travel efficiently (economically). And what is interesting on longer stretches is above all the average speed: with traffic and construction zones, more than the 95 km/h mentioned is less and less often possible during the day. I probably won’t be much slower on the automated trip.
So with L3, I can actually use the time on a longer highway drive for distracting activities for the first time; for example, I may watch a documentary or read (under Section 1b of the German Road Traffic Act, StVG, I would even be allowed to handle my smartphone). But is that worth a 6,000-euro surcharge? IMHO, that could well be free in models like these. Especially since they are selling really well right now. Not.
By the way, it is still eight years until 2032, when in the movie Demolition Man, vehicles drive fully automated through the San Angeles metro area. Come on, Mercedes-Benz AG, you can do it. 😉