Autopilots at Mercedes-Benz: “Automated driving”

[HighestOfHigh]

Mercedes-Benz Improving Safety Testing With Autopilot Technology

Cars that navigate complex terrain or urban environments have already been built for competitions like the DARPA's (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) various challenges. Mercedes-Benz is now further developing the technology with an eye on future generations of safety and assistance systems.

Mercedes-Benz is the first vehicle maker worldwide to introduce an innovative proving method into its test driving portfolio--safety-critical driving maneuvers that cannot be precisely reproduced by people are now being handled by autopilot on closed test tracks. Automated driving supports the development, testing and validation of assistance systems and other safety features. Additionally, testing at the limit can now be carried out without danger and health risks to development engineers.

Some of the scenarios that would be virtually impossible to reproduce manually include merging at different speeds and distances, high-risk tests where, for example, a vehicle brakes heavily in front of another that swerves at the last minute, and safety-critical tests whereby, at an intersection, one vehicle crosses just in front of or behind the path of a second vehicle.

The vehicles used in the test regime are regular production models equipped with "robots" for steering, acceleration and braking. An on-board computer controls the autopilot so that a pre-programmed course is followed exactly--even if several vehicles are involved in one maneuver.

- Mercedes-Benz Improving Safety Testing With Autopilot Technology - MotorAuthority

 

[Wolfgang]

MBUSA now offers the book about Mercedes-Benz safety pioneer Bela Barenyi. He started to work at Mercedes around 1940 until retirement in the 1970s. MB designer Bruno Sacco worked 5 years in his division - that's where he learnt passive safety.

MBUSA link: BELA BARENYI PIONEER OF PASSIVE SAFETY AT MERCEDES

 

[Wolfgang]

some good news. The old one in Marienfelde was not able to simulate some of the more advanced maneuvers.

New driving simulator taken into operation in Sindelfingen: Investment in cutting-edge technologies

Future-proof: centrepiece of a 160-million Euro investment in this location

Fast reaction: for highly dynamic driving manoeuvres such as lane-changes

Photorealistic: with 360° screen and precise landscape images

Prof. Dr. Peter Frankenberg, Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Science, Research and Art, and Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management responsible for Group Research and Head of Development, Mercedes-Benz Cars, ceremoniously opened the new Daimler AG driving simulator in Sindelfingen with a virtual excursion. The first milestone in the expansion of the Mercedes-Benz Technology Center has therefore been reached.

Nowhere in the world of automobile production are research, development, design, planning and production so directly intermeshed as at the Mercedes-Benz location in Sindelfingen: "The advantages are very obvious: the exchange of information between the individual sectors could not be more close and intensive. This shortens our development times, significantly increases the maturity of our products and therefore makes a major contribution to the future competitiveness of our brand," said Dr. Weber.

A total of € 160 million is being invested in infrastructure, the driving simulator and climate wind tunnels over a five-year period. Further significant investments are planned for the next few years. The expansion of this location and expenditure on cutting-edge technology is a visible demonstration that even in challenging economic times, Daimler AG is not cutting back on strategic investments. This is how the company safeguards its technological and innovative leadership in the premium segment.

"Expansion of the Mercedes-Benz Technology Center along the southern end of the plant's central axis is visible evidence of our strategy to develop our technological and innovative expertise further on a continuous basis," says Prof. Dr. Eberhard Haller, Location and Plant Manager of the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen.

With its 360° screen, fast electric power system and a twelve-metre long rail for transverse movements, the dynamic simulator is the most advanced in the automobile industry. As an equally advanced feature, part of the energy required to drive the simulator is obtained by means of energy recuperation when braking, and fed into the power network of the Sindelfingen plant.

"The new driving simulator enables us to reproduce highly dynamic driving manoeuvres such as lane-changes even more realistically, and to research the behaviour of the driver and vehicle in road traffic even more intensively," Dr. Weber explains. The facility is not able or intended to replace real test drives completely, but the simulator makes it possible to test the systems and components of future Mercedes models in all development phases.

The driving simulator is also used e.g. to conduct tests with test subjects. During these, normal car drivers are able to approach the physical limits with no danger, and provide the Mercedes engineers with findings concerning the acceptance and operation of new safety systems.

How the simulator works:

The simulator cell is a hexapod mounted on six moveable supporting legs. Inside there is a complete Mercedes model in which the test driver is seated, as well as the 360° projection screen showing a realistic image of the traffic scene, with moving pedestrians, oncoming traffic and houses.

The vehicle controls are linked to the computerised control system of the driving simulator by data lines. When the test driver turns the steering wheel, accelerates or operates the brakes, these reactions are registered by the computer control system and have the same effects as in real traffic situations. The scenery on the screen changes constantly, and the moving cell simulates the vehicle's attitude on the road, for example front-end dive when braking or body roll during fast cornering. The computer calculates the driving behaviour of the car more than 1000 times per second, issuing the relevant commands to the electrics. It is able to move the cell transversely by up to twelve metres at a maximum speed of ten metres per second (36 km/h), so that e.g. double lane-changes can also be simulated.

Mercedes-Benz has played a pioneering role in the use of simulators for a long time. The first driving simulator, an in-house development, was already taken into commission at the Daimler-Benz research centre in Berlin-Marienfelde 25 years ago, on 10 May 1985.

PS. Daimler may offer use of the simulator to partners e.g. BMW and Renault-Nissan (quoting Thomas Weber in the press).

New driving simulator taken into operation in Sindelfingen: Investment in cutting-edge technologies | Mercedes-Benz Passion eBlog

 

[K-A]

But this is far off, MB only puts stuff into production when its fool proof...
And then it takes some time for the rest..like the system in the volvo ( FAIL) has been in the S class for nearly 4 years now..

Really.... Like the SBC Brakes?

I don't know about all this insanely advanced "car driving humans" stuff. People will be so immune to not having to pay attention on the road, or keep their senses high, it'll be like a bunch of poor driving, dangerous, lazy a$$es if they ever had to drive a car again themselves.

Also, electronics ALWAYS fail at some point. Not only can this be a lawsuit craze in the making. But if/when these things fail, prepare for some dangerous instances. Not to mention, I'm afraid these car manufacturers aren't putting much care and attention to the far future.

What happens when the typical underclass buys beat up/hooptied-out S-Classes 10 years after they're on the market, never to service them, etc. We really will have safe roads with these poorly operating mechanical pieces of multi-ton machinery "driving themselves" around?

 

[Wolfgang]

6D-Vision – Recognizing danger faster than humans


(f.l.t.r) Stefan Gehrig, Uwe Franke, Clemens Rabe

The number of road fatalities has been declining in Germany for decades. Yet many people are still killed on the road – and every death is one too many. How can driving be made even safer in the future?

Dr. Uwe Franke, Dr. Stefan Gehrig, and Dr. Clemens Rabe are convinced: intelligent driver assistance systems can dramatically reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on the road. They have developed a technology that provides entirely new ways of assisting drivers. It can be used to recognize dangers, and many accidents can be avoided by the vehicle’s rapid response. Uwe Franke heads the “Image Recognition” Department at Daimler Research and Advanced Engineering in Sindelfingen to which Stefan Gehrig and Clemens Rabe also belong.

To be able to support the driver in complex traffic situations, the vehicle’s artificial senses must reliably recognize what’s happening around it. And the electronic assistant must be able to “sense” how other road users will continue to respond – for example, whether another car will collide with the driver’s vehicle or a child at play will run into the road. Previous systems were not able to grasp many critical situations and took too long to analyze measurements and data and still react fast enough.

The nominated scientists at Daimler succeeded in vastly improving the capabilities of the technical danger recognition system. They modeled their system on the function of the human eye and brain whose abilities they were even able to surpass. The new “6D vision” technology succeeds in identifying children at play at the side of the road in less than 0.2 seconds – a human being takes more than twice as long. To achieve this remarkable feat, a stereo camera records three dimensional images in rapid succession of the surroundings in front and next to the vehicle. An algorithm developed just for this purpose analyzes the images virtually instantaneously. By comparing the sequence of images, the system also recognizes whether and how fast objects such as cyclists, pedestrians, or cars are moving. It even works very reliably in inclement weather and at twilight.

Daimler will soon be including 6D vision systems in the Mercedes vehicles series – as the basis for innovative assistance systems that recognize pedestrians, assist drivers as they pass through blind crossings or navigate narrow highway construction sites. The research team from Sindelfingen hopes that their innovations will find widespread acceptance in the automotive industry – so that as many road users as possible are provided with an additional safety feature. In attempt to ensure that this is the case, the company plans to make the technology available to other manufacturers. 6D vision has the potential to revolutionize electronic vision not only in cars, but also in service robots that act independently. These robots are designed to serve as household helpers or to assist in caring for the infirm. To do so, they must be able to monitor their surroundings and to recognize where and how their charge moves around. The six-dimensional look at the world provided by automotive research makes it possible.


Deutscher Zukunftspreis Nomination 2011: Daimler 6D-Vision – Recognizing danger faster than humans

 

[deity]

If there's one thing that humans have learned over the course of our existence, it is that our definition of what is or is not possible has constantly been refuted. I do believe that if MB decides to bring automated driving/safety features to consumers, that it will be tested, and tried millions, and billions of time before that decision is made.

 

[Wolfgang]

Technicity has more info, a video and interview with the 6D Vision researchers

Daimler Researchers Nominated for “Deutscher Zukunftspreis”

Daimler Technicity | Daimler Researchers Nominated for

 

[MBFanToDeath]

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The World Of Mercedes-Benz AMG | Blog For Mercedes-Benz Enthusiasts

 

[Pagani]

So then as I understand it, this system takes over the braking? I assume the engineers weren't the ones doing the emergency breaking (or at least not the whole of it). Then, what confuses me is the lane avoidance maneuver, and what that is trying to demonstrate, since there was no braking, and the steering was the work of the driver. Unless, I havent understood a thing and I don't know what is being shown here. Surely can't be just a system that paints objects based on a trajectory that will or will not interfere with the moving vehicle!

 

[Wolfgang]

^^ It can brake or swerve:

http://www.germancarforum.com/merce...ommitment-road-safety-climate-protection.html

When the bicyclist crosses in front it's better to brake, because swerving might not work in that case. When the woman steps into the street it can't swerve because of traffic in the opposite lane. But when the car door opens, it swerves, and relatively slowly, so the driver's hands can follow the steering movement. In the last scene the pedestrian suddenly appears from behind a vehicle, and there's no time to brake, and the swerve must be rather sudden, so fast the driver's hands don't follow the steering wheel's movement.

The objective is to reduce accidents, following the Vision of Accident free driving: Mercedes Boss Zetsche on 2011 | Detroit Motor Show | Motor Shows | Auto Express

 

[Pagani]

What do I know, the last scene provided the answer, and it is the only one I skipped.
In all, this is amazing technology, better than what autopilot--a driverless car--suggested.

 

[Wolfgang]

Interesting place at the Mercedes Technology Center in Sindelfingen.
It's called 'Sim City' where you can test and demonstrate autonomous drive technologies and features..

 

[Sunny]

Saw a S class with big "S500 Intelligent Drive" on the side driving on Central Express Way near Mtn view today. Know anything bout it @Wolfgang?

 

[Amat46]

Could be the car from this video? though must confess I wasn't looking at the car throughout

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[Wolfgang]

Saw a S class with big "S500 Intelligent Drive" on the side driving on Central Express Way near Mtn view today. Know anything bout it @Wolfgang?

Suspect Mercedes-Benz Road Girl works at the nearby MB Research and Development Center on Pastoria Ave.

 

[Sunny]

Suspect Mercedes-Benz Road Girl works at the nearby MB Research and Development Center on Pastoria Ave.

Ah, I drive by there often, maybe I will stop by and give them this snippet

if (fasterCarBehind) { getOffLeftLane(); }

 

[vios1]

Very soon we do not need a driving license to operate a vehicle, autopilot will be as common as airbag, safety belt in future for any vehicles.

 

[Wolfgang]

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[tristatez28lt1]

I'd love to let that blonde put the S-class on autonomous drive and then concentrate on more important things...

 

[Wolfgang]

"60 minutes" on driverless cars aired on Sunday.

Hands off the Wheel

Self-driving cars are already on the road in test drives with watchful researchers in them. How soon will the computerized cars become part of our live

The following is a script from "Hands Off the Wheel" which aired on October 4, 2015. Bill Whitaker is the correspondent. Marc Lieberman, producer.

Car accidents cost us much more than time and money. They also take a staggering number of lives. Every year on American roads, nearly 33,000 people die, almost all because of driver error. That's the equivalent of a 747 full of passengers crashing once a week for a year. Self-driving cars could save more than two-thirds of those lives. That's what the nation's top auto regulator told us.

It's no wonder the biggest names in the auto industry and high-tech are racing to develop driverless cars powered by a form of artificial intelligence. Six years ago, Google rolled out a prototype that jump started the competition. Today, Apple and Uber are experimenting too. We wanted to see how far the technology has come. So we hit the road in Silicon Valley, the new Detroit for self-driving cars.

Bill Whitaker: What do you have to do to make the car take over?

Ralf Herrtwich: I just pull this lever. And now--

Bill Whitaker: System is active?

Ralf Herrtwich: It goes.

Computer scientist Ralf Herrtwich runs autonomous vehicle research for Mercedes-Benz. He punched in a route and took us for a 20-mile drive on city streets and highways in this S500, the company's most advanced self-driving prototype.

Bill Whitaker: So this is like no hands, no feet, car is in charge?

Ralf Herrtwich: Yeah, the car is in charge.

Right from the start, the car astonished us. As we approached our first intersection, it slowed down and steered itself into the left turn lane.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/self-driving-cars-google-mercedes-benz-60-minutes/