Daimler became the first international automaker to receive a road test license for highly automated driving research vehicles. With this approval, Mercedes-Benz test vehicles will now begin real road tests to further perfect the technology in the Chinese capital of Beijing.
To qualify for the license, Mercedes-Benz vehicles equipped with additional technical applications from Baidu Apollo undertook extensive testing at the National Pilot Zone (Beijing and Hebei) for Intelligent Mobility.
Daimler has been setting standards in vehicle safety throughout its long history of technical innovations. In particular, the Intelligent Drive assistance systems have major advancements on the road to autonomous driving. The Mercedes-Benz S‑Class and E‑Class sedans offer partially automated driving technology through Intelligent Drive. For instance, the new DIGITAL LIGHT technology increases safety through extending the visual support for driving assistance systems through sensors that detect other road users and adapt light distribution in all situations.
Daimler has also actively expanded local R&D in the fields of automated driving and vehicle safety, extending its cooperation with local partners. Together with Baidu, Daimler is engaging in research on safer solutions in automated driving for China through the open source Apollo autonomous driving platform. The goal is a deep understanding of the special requirements for automated driving in China, and to develop an early intuition regarding local technical trends. In addition, through their joint Research Center for Sustainable Transportation, Daimler and China’s renowned Tsinghua University since 2012 have supported research projects related to sustainable transportation in a China-specific road environment. With a focus on increasing safety for all road users, research conducted by the Center has included gathering data on typical traffic situations, research on ‘vision- based detection of vulnerable road users’ (VRU), and creating digital models of the East Asian human body proportions for simulation of crash tests.
Source: Daimler
