The updated Mercedes S-Class will gain the most advanced autonomous systems in the market to further establish its leading position in the market.
The news came from Ola Kallenius, the company’s research and development boss who spoke to Autocar at the Detroit Motor Show.
Mercedes continues the tradition of offering simply the best with the S-Class, and the upcoming mid-life facelift model proves just that, as it not only is going to adopt new powertrains but is also going to feature “the first intelligent integration of sensor and map data” on a production car.
The system will allow the new S-Class to read upcoming corners with the use of its sensors and the on-board map data and decide whether the vehicle’s speed is too high or not, braking the car if necessary, driving it through the bend and resume at its original speed.
“And while the existing system will steer itself along 80% of Germany’s autobahns and a small number of highways, the new system will be effective on almost all autobahns and 80% of highways”, explained Kallenius to the publication.
“If you use the indicators approaching a 90-degree turn, it will drop your speed until you can make the turn”. Kalenius also noted that their system must be capable of predicting all potential scenarios. “You don’t want to be going around a blind bend, discovering the white lines have disappeared and being a meter out at the exit”, he added.
The self-driving system will also bring the car to a full stop, switch on the hazard lights, unlock the doors and call the emergency services if the driver takes his hands off the wheel for a longer period and all warnings fail as an extra safety measure, proving that the road to a fully autonomous vehicle is still a few years away.
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