We aren’t so much inching towards autonomous cars as we are hurtling inexorably towards being driven to work by small robots that live in our dashboards, and the latest evidence of this comes from Mercedes-Benz boss Dieter Zetsche, who says the arrival of autonomous cars is “imminent.” His wording suggests that the first Mercedes to receive autonomous tech will be the next E-Class, which is slated to arrive for the 2017 model year as an all-new model. A concept E-Class will be shown in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Zetsche confirmed that the next generation of Mercedes would be able to drive on the highway and park without driver input. This will likely be the first consumer application for Mercedes’s Highway Pilot system. First demonstrated in 2012, Highway Pilot uses 360-degree sensors to monitor surrounding traffic, and Distronic Plus cruise control (already available in current Mercedes) to adjust speed in response to the car in front of it. It also checks adjacent lanes for passing opportunities and, if clear, will signal, pass and rejoin the lane. Someday, human drivers might even be capable of this.
When it comes to parking, don’t expect to jump out of your Merc wherever you want, send it off to find a parking spot and summon it with your smart phone when you’re ready to leave, at least not yet. For the short-term, it will still be up to humans to find parking spots, but once that’s done, your next Mercedes will park itself without hitting cars or other objects. Again, something human drivers might someday be capable of.
Continue reading to learn more about the next generation Mercedes E-Class.
Next Mercedes E-Class Will Get Autonomous Technology originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 22 April 2015 19:00 EST.
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