Mercedes-
It has become the first manufacturer of L3 level automatic driving technology to obtain international effective certification. In Germany, it is said that it can be ordered and used as early as this month.
Although the names given by various manufacturers are slightly different, in any case, most of the semi-autonomous driving technology that we can generally experience now is L2 level. In the case of Level 3, a higher level than this, conditional autonomous driving is possible, but so far no manufacturer has legally provided such a service. However, Mercedes announced for the first time that it will offer this level of service. According to Mercedes-Benz, the semi-autonomous driving technology ordered from May 17 has reached L3 level, especially the first L3 level automatic driving technology that has obtained international effective certification.
Level 3 is the so-called conditional automation phase, where the system involves all aspects of driving, with the driver intervening only when necessary. If the vehicle detects that you need to hold the steering wheel in your hand, it will alert you. Mercedes-Benz was the first car manufacturer to offer L3 level autonomous driving services.
Micro Spicy achieved L3 level automatic driving, mercedes-benz added a lot of configurations. First of all, on the basis of cameras and ultrasonic sensors, lidar sensors that can identify objects more accurately have been added. According to Mercedes, it includes a high-precision map accurate to one centimeter. In addition, in the case of L3 level, security measures have been strengthened as it is a highly automated phase. In particular, it is planned to have redundant architectures to prevent failures and will install a system that calculates braking, steering operations, power supply, object recognition and driving-related calculations.
However, it can still get errors. Therefore, in case of error, Mercedes immediately gives the driver the right to drive, and if the driver does not react to the warning within 10 seconds, it is designed to move the vehicle to a safe place and take it as a final stop.
The exact driving conditions are not yet clear, but it is currently known that the operation will only be carried out near the highway. This is the same strategy that Cadillac's Super Cruise uses primarily on highways. This is because highways are easier to predict than roads in general, especially the likelihood of unexpected situations being low.
With this service, drivers do not have to hold the steering wheel while driving on the highway, they can enjoy a simple center-control screen game if they wish. Of course, this will need to see if the relevant laws and regulations of the relevant countries allow it, Mercedes has introduced, and it is in the process of regulatory approval in California and Nevada.
The era of L3 autonomous driving began with Mercedes-Benz. How much more do users have to pay to use the system? First of all, this service is available through S-class and EQS, with options offered for around 5,000 euros. Since driver Assistant Package Plus must be added here. This is roughly equivalent to the cost of Tesla's FSD option. Instead, Mercedes-Benz differs in that it includes a lidar sensor.
However, as can be seen from the case of Mercedes-Benz, L3 or higher self-driving services are not cheap. But high-end brands like Mercedes-Benz could set a reasonable price for the technology, while Volkswagen brands struggle to launch L3 level self-driving services immediately. This is because users are spending 1 million to buy a car, and then spend an additional 100,000 to buy services, and they will not feel stressed. However, in general, 200,000 cars, to let car owners spend another 100,000 to buy autonomous driving services, the user's acceptance is not so high.
Therefore, only luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz can first achieve automatic driving, especially LiDAR sensors, and the price is still high in the case that economies of scale have not yet fully formed, especially the task of miniaturization still exists, and it is difficult to expect price reductions for the time being.
So, as far as Volkswagen is concerned, it is also considering providing a monthly fee, but it is not clear whether it can generate a return on investment normally. While technology is already with us, it seems that the advancement of autonomous driving still has a long way to go due to legal issues and practical issues such as price.