Mercedes-Benz announced that Nevada became the first state in the United States to be allowed to legally use the Drive Pilot autonomous driving system (Level 3 autonomous driving technology), and the speed limit is limited to 64km/h by law. Mercedes-Benz will offer the Drive Pilot system in the S-Class and EQS models, with the first models delivered to customers in the second half of 2023. At the same time, Mercedes-Benz hopes to expand the scope of use to California as soon as possible, after Mercedes-Benz has provided certification documents to the state.
At the end of 2021, Mercedes-Benz passed the approval of the German Federal Transport Administration, becoming the first manufacturer in the world to legally use Level 3 autonomous driving in Germany, meeting the latest requirements of the German Road Traffic Law on autonomous driving in 2017, and the first models to apply Level 3 autonomous driving technology were S-Class and EQS.
It is understood that the Mercedes-Benz Drive Pilot automatic driving system uses stereoscopic multi-view cameras, microphones, ultrasonic radars, lidars, humidity sensors, special color sensors, while receiving high-definition map real-time information, and equipped with redundant systems, which can ensure that it can still maintain normal operation after a set of system failures.
After the Mercedes-Benz Drive Pilot automatic driving system is used, the vehicle can take over the driving after activating the button on the steering wheel, and the driver can leave the steering wheel with both hands and do other things, note that these are legal.