A few days ago, E-Car News learned from Valeo officials that its second-generation SCALA lidar will be installed on the new Mercedes-Benz S-class, becoming the world's first Valeo lidar, which can achieve L3 automatic driving.
Thanks to the capabilities of Valeo SCALA lidar, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is capable of conditional autonomous driving, for example on highways and in traffic jams (currently the maximum speed limit is 60 km/h). In conditional autopilot mode, the vehicle itself has full control over the driving process, which means that the driver can temporarily take his attention off the road ahead. When driving on the highway, conditional autopilot mode gives the driver time to relax or focus on tasks other than driving. Authorized activities include making phone calls, surfing the Internet or reading emails through the vehicle's built-in infotainment system.
It will also be the world's first model to be equipped with Valeo's new-generation lidar cleaning system.
Not long ago, Mercedes-Benz just passed the approval of the German Federal Transport Authority, becoming the first manufacturer in the world to legally use L3 level autonomous driving in Germany, meeting the latest requirements of the German road traffic law in 2017 on automatic driving.
It is understood that the Mercedes-Benz DRIVE Pilot automatic driving system uses stereoscopic multi-eye cameras, microphones, ultrasonic radar, lidar, humidity sensors, special color sensors, while receiving real-time information on high-definition maps, and equipped with a redundant system that can ensure that it can still work normally after a system failure; the system will be first equipped on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and EQS in 2022;
The system is allowed to be used in heavy traffic on Germany's 13,191 km long highway network, which is limited to the legal limit of 60 km/h, after which OTA upgrades will be carried out in accordance with legal changes, and will continue to pay attention.