Benz To Present Driver Assistance Systems Of Tomorrow At The ITS World Congress 2008

[Merc1]

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


ITS World Congress 2008: Mercedes-Benz to Present the Driver Assistance Systems of Tomorrow

* Improved safety through vehicle-to-vehicle communication and monitoring of vehicle surroundings

* Research geared toward safe and stress-free driving

* myCOMAND — the world’s first Internet-based in-vehicle infotainment system

The 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) will take place in New York from November 16 to 20, 2008. Mercedes-Benz, one of the biggest sponsors of the World Congress, will present the driver assistance systems of the future at the event. “Mercedes-Benz vehicles have been considered the safest and most comfortable in the world from the very beginning,” says Prof. Bharat Balasubramanian, Vice President Group Research & Advanced Engineering E/E, Processes and IT at Mercedes-Benz. “In order to demonstrate that this will remain the case in the future, we will present to ITS World Congress visitors interesting exhibits that offer a preview of the vehicle functions of the future.”

The Mercedes-Benz stand at the ITS will highlight vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication systems, technologies for monitoring vehicle surroundings, and systems for measuring driver stress. Mercedes-Benz will also use the occasion of the ITS to unveil myCOMAND — the completely Internet-based in-vehicle infotainment system of the future.

With some 10,000 international participants, the ITS World Congress is the world’s biggest exhibition of state-of-the-art information and communication technologies for automotive applications.

Improved safety through vehicle-to-vehicle communication

In the U.S., approximately 2.5 million people were injured in traffic accidents in 2007. The number of people killed was around 40,000. To help significantly reduce these figures, researchers and developers at Mercedes-Benz are supporting the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) initiative, which tests concepts for vehicle-to-vehicle communication as well as communication between vehicles and transmission/receiving stations along a route.

The technical basis for VII is provided by dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) technology, which enables vehicles to communicate with each other and their surrounding environment. Information obtained via DSRC can make drivers more attentive and enable dangerous situations to be recognized, and, in the ideal case, avoided.

Mercedes-Benz is taking advantage of the ITS World Congress to present for the first time a combination of its driver assistance functions and DSRC technology in the form of an experimental brake assist system for use at traffic lights.

Preventing the unintentional running of red lights

If a vehicle equipped with the new system approaches a VII-enabled traffic light and the system’s camera-based traffic light recognition unit registers that the light is red, the vehicle receives a DSRC signal containing information on the current state of the light. If the driver continues on toward the red light, he or she is warned by a beep and a symbol on the dashboard display, which give the driver enough time to brake the vehicle before it runs the light. Should the driver fail to react, the next acoustic and visual warning stage is engaged, which still allows the driver enough time to avoid running the light, although harder braking will now be required. If the driver still doesn’t respond, the vehicle itself initiates an autonomous emergency braking maneuver, whereby the driver can still overrule the system at any time.

The combination of a camera-based recognition feature and DSRC makes the system robust and immune to erroneous information. The braking maneuver is engaged only if the camera and the DSRC system have both determined the presence of a red traffic light. Such redundancy makes for greater safety and prevents the system from being triggered by mistake.

Improved safety due to relaxed drivers

The primary objective of the Mercedes-Benz comprehensive safety concept is to prevent accidents. This process starts with people, so whoever is sitting behind the wheel should always be completely fit on all counts — and should remain so during the entire journey. Mercedes-Benz therefore develops vehicles that are comfortable to drive, and the brand also sets the pace for the development of state-of-the-art driver assistance systems.

“Mindlab” is a method developed by Mercedes researchers that uses brainwave measurements to evaluate driver stress, whereby the scientists are also working to determine the best way to issue warnings in such stress situations. Here, electrodes attached to the heads of test subjects provide the scientists with an image of the processes occurring in the individuals’ brains. These images depict the characteristic patterns of brainwaves, which allow experts to determine, for example, how attentive a person is, or how much stress and/or fatigue he or she is currently suffering.

Improved safety through predictive technologies

Ensuring that assistance systems can effectively support drivers requires precise and reliable analyses of traffic situations. The “6D-Vision” system from Mercedes-Benz uses two cameras that view their surroundings in the same manner that a human being’s two eyes do. This stereo arrangement enables 3D depiction of the vehicle’s surroundings in real time. The system uses this information to identify every object around the vehicle and assess the risk it might pose for a potential collision. The Mercedes researchers are particularly hopeful that the system can be used in the future to significantly reduce accidents involving pedestrians, and also lessen the severity of those accidents that occur nevertheless.

Improved comfort through Internet-based infotainment system

MyCOMAND is a brand-new infotainment system developed by Mercedes-Benz. As a completely Internet-based application, it offers a preview of the vehicle telematics systems of the future. MyCOMAND uses the Web to continually update all data and information, which it makes available through a single interface. Users can thus access individual services at any time — and in accordance with their current position and situation — via an attractive and intuitive operating system.

COPYRIGHT © 2008 Daimler AG


Mercedes-Benz To Present Driver Assistance Systems Of Tomorrow At The ITS World Congress 2008


M

 

[modena_360stradale]

Re: Benz To Present Driver Assistance Systems Of Tomorrow At The ITS World Congress 2

Preventing the unintentional running of red lights

If a vehicle equipped with the new system approaches a VII-enabled traffic light and the system’s camera-based traffic light recognition unit registers that the light is red, the vehicle receives a DSRC signal containing information on the current state of the light. If the driver continues on toward the red light, he or she is warned by a beep and a symbol on the dashboard display, which give the driver enough time to brake the vehicle before it runs the light. Should the driver fail to react, the next acoustic and visual warning stage is engaged, which still allows the driver enough time to avoid running the light, although harder braking will now be required. If the driver still doesn’t respond, the vehicle itself initiates an autonomous emergency braking maneuver, whereby the driver can still overrule the system at any time.

The combination of a camera-based recognition feature and DSRC makes the system robust and immune to erroneous information. The braking maneuver is engaged only if the camera and the DSRC system have both determined the presence of a red traffic light. Such redundancy makes for greater safety and prevents the system from being triggered by mistake.

Improved safety due to relaxed drivers

The primary objective of the Mercedes-Benz comprehensive safety concept is to prevent accidents. This process starts with people, so whoever is sitting behind the wheel should always be completely fit on all counts — and should remain so during the entire journey. Mercedes-Benz therefore develops vehicles that are comfortable to drive, and the brand also sets the pace for the development of state-of-the-art driver assistance systems.

“Mindlab” is a method developed by Mercedes researchers that uses brainwave measurements to evaluate driver stress, whereby the scientists are also working to determine the best way to issue warnings in such stress situations. Here, electrodes attached to the heads of test subjects provide the scientists with an image of the processes occurring in the individuals’ brains. These images depict the characteristic patterns of brainwaves, which allow experts to determine, for example, how attentive a person is, or how much stress and/or fatigue he or she is currently suffering.

Improved safety through predictive technologies

Ensuring that assistance systems can effectively support drivers requires precise and reliable analyses of traffic situations. The “6D-Vision” system from Mercedes-Benz uses two cameras that view their surroundings in the same manner that a human being’s two eyes do. This stereo arrangement enables 3D depiction of the vehicle’s surroundings in real time. The system uses this information to identify every object around the vehicle and assess the risk it might pose for a potential collision. The Mercedes researchers are particularly hopeful that the system can be used in the future to significantly reduce accidents involving pedestrians, and also lessen the severity of those accidents that occur nevertheless.


M

As wonderful as the technology is, it's always worrying when manufacturers take driving out of the hands of the driver. Instead of being focused on traffic, people will start to rely on the autobrake or visual/aural cues to wake them up at the intersection.

 

[Merc1]

Re: Benz To Present Driver Assistance Systems Of Tomorrow At The ITS World Congress 2

Yeah I'm afraid thats where we're heading....someday everything will be automatic. Long as it all can be switched off!

M

 

[modena_360stradale]

Re: Benz To Present Driver Assistance Systems Of Tomorrow At The ITS World Congress 2

Yeah I'm afraid thats where we're heading....someday everything will be automatic. Long as it all can be switched off!

M

Like in the movie iRobot

Something tells me a traffic system like that is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[Merc1]

Re: Benz To Present Driver Assistance Systems Of Tomorrow At The ITS World Congress 2

If and when it malfunctions, it most surely will be just that....a disaster.

M

 

[justanthony]

Re: Benz To Present Driver Assistance Systems Of Tomorrow At The ITS World Congress 2

Due to legal [and other] reasons, the driver will always have ultimate control. Think of these systems more as intelligent warnings and alerts

 

[coolraoul]

Re: Benz To Present Driver Assistance Systems Of Tomorrow At The ITS World Congress 2

It's clearly stated that the driver can overrule the system at any time, the system only beeps and then initiate a braking, the driver can overrule and pass the red light nonetheless... For now at least...

The car is merging with the train to create the road-train... I don't like this idea, even if the safety will gain from it. Our modern society is increasingly considering human as a child it has to educate, control, maintain under its domination, and ultimately deresponsibilization will effectively turn us into childs waiting for instructions and orders...

I don't want my car to drive me, I want to drive my car...

 

[cawimmer430]

Re: Benz To Present Driver Assistance Systems Of Tomorrow At The ITS World Congress 2

someday everything will be automatic. Long as it all can be switched off!

M

My prediction of the future.

 

[LaArtist]

Re: Benz To Present Driver Assistance Systems Of Tomorrow At The ITS World Congress 2

Im very interested in that myCommand

 

[Tarek]

Re: Benz To Present Driver Assistance Systems Of Tomorrow At The ITS World Congress 2

My prediction of the future.

Lol chris,but seriously those are some advanced stuff

OT,i'm looking forward to T4 next summer

 

[Wolfgang]

an update

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Feds, automakers launch pioneering connected-car safety study

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The U.S. Department of Transportation today launched its first large-scale real-world study on the use of vehicle connectivity to enhance safety -- an effort that officials compared to the early development of seat belts or airbags. Nearly 3,000 cars, trucks and buses have been outfitted with sensors that will enable the vehicles to communicate with one another and collect data that researchers will be able to use to determine whether the devices help drivers avoid crashes.

In a ceremony on the University of Michigan campus here, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who was joined by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief David Strickland and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, said the "smart" cars could one day prevent up to 80 percent of crashes involving nonimpaired drivers. "Cars talking to cars is the future of motor safety. It opens the possibility of not just reducing the number of crashes, but preventing them altogether," LaHood said, speaking in the safety pilot's preparation garage. LaHood said that at the end of the yearlong study, NHTSA would review the data from the pilot program and determine whether to implement federal regulations.

"There's no decision on a rule. We don't even know if there's going to be a rule," he said. "We're going to work with our friends in the industry. We're going to work with the researchers. We're going to look at the data and then we're going to decide how to proceed."

The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute will conduct the $25 million federally funded study, and eight automakers -- General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG, Hyundai Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. -- are each contributing eight vehicles that will be equipped with transmitters and receivers to communicate with other vehicles and warning systems that will alert drivers if a crash is imminent.

Feds, automakers launch pioneering connected-car safety study

 

[Wolfgang]

MERCEDES-BENZ SUPPORTS RESEARCH FLEET FOR VEHICLE-TO-VEHICLE MODEL DEPLOYMENT

Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Inc. (MBRDNA) is supporting the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) Model Deployment. This activity, to be officially launched on August 21, 2012 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is the largest connected vehicle field operational trial in the world, with over 2800 passenger, commercial, and transit vehicles. The purpose of this trial is to evaluate, in real world scenarios, automotive safety technology based on wireless communications between vehicles. Academia, industry, and government have all come together to assure the success of this effort.

The wireless communications technology used in the V2V Model Deployment is 5.9 GHz Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC). Mercedes-Benz, a pioneer in automotive safety, considers innovations based on 5.9 GHz DSRC, in combination with in-vehicle Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, as an important step on the road towards accident free driving. For this reason, Mercedes-Benz continues to collaborate with government agencies and other major car manufacturers in the United States and Europe to develop effective safety solutions based on 5.9 GHz DSRC.

MBRDNA equipped eight Mercedes-Benz C-300 passenger vehicles and three Freightliner heavy-duty commercial trucks with fully integrated 5.9 GHz DSRC systems to support the V2V Model Deployment. The passenger vehicles feature LED strip lighting on the dashboard that illuminate to warn the driver of an impending collision risk. The commercial vehicles display warnings through tablet devices installed in the cockpit. Local Ann Arbor residents will drive these vehicles over the course of one year, while researchers collect and analyze data to assess the systems’ effectiveness.

In addition to its participation in USDOT V2V Model Deployment, Mercedes-Benz’s strong support for V2V communication is also evident in other projects in this area, for instance the simTD research project. (The name simTD stands for ‘Safe Intelligent Mobility – test field Germany’.) Headed by Mercedes-Benz, the aim of the recently started simTD field trial is to test the V2V systems’ suitability for everyday use in real-life traffic conditions on the roads of the Rhine-Main region.

© 2012 The World Of Mercedes-Benz AMG™. All rights reserved.

Mercedes-Benz supports research fleet for Vehicle-to-Vehicle Model Deployment

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[Wolfgang]

DOT Launches Largest-Ever Road Test of Connected Vehicle Crash Avoidance Technology

Nearly 3,000 Vehicles Will Send Wi-Fi-like Signals that Warn of Safety Hazards,
Could Help Reduce Crashes During Year-Long Research Project

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Nearly 3,000 cars, trucks and buses equipped with “connected” Wi-Fi technology to enable vehicles and infrastructure to “talk” to each other in real time to help avoid crashes and improve traffic flow will begin traversing Ann Arbor’s streets today as part of a year-long safety pilot project by the U.S. Department of Transportation. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined elected officials and industry and community leaders on the University of Michigan campus to launch the second phase of the Safety Pilot, the largest road test to date of connected vehicle crash avoidance technology.

“Today is a big moment for automotive safety,” said Secretary LaHood. “This cutting-edge technology offers real promise for improving both the safety and efficiency of our roads. That is a winning combination for drivers across America.”

Conducted by University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), the road test, or model deployment, is a first-of-its-kind test of connected vehicle technology in the real world. The test cars, trucks and buses, most of which have been supplied by volunteer participants, are equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication devices that will gather extensive data about system operability and its effectiveness at reducing crashes.

According to DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), V2V safety technology could help drivers avoid or reduce the severity of four out of five unimpaired vehicle crashes. To accomplish this, the model deployment vehicles will send electronic data messages, receive messages from other equipped vehicles, and translate the data into a warning to the driver during specific hazardous traffic scenarios. Such hazards include an impending collision at a blind intersection, a vehicle changing lanes in another vehicle’s blind spot, or a rear collision with a vehicle stopped ahead, among others.

“Vehicle-to-vehicle communication has the potential to be the ultimate game-changer in roadway safety – but we need to understand how to apply the technology in an effective way in the real world,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “NHTSA will use the valuable data from the ‘model deployment’ as it decides if and when these connected vehicle safety technologies should be incorporated into the fleet.”

The model deployment is the second phase of DOT’s connected vehicle Safety Pilot, a major research initiative managed by NHTSA and the Research and Innovative Technologies Administration (RITA) Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office. Earlier this year, DOT released data from a series of “driver acceptance clinics” conducted during the first phase of the Safety Pilot. The study revealed that an overwhelming majority of drivers (9 out of 10) who have experienced V2V technology have a highly favorable opinion of its safety benefits and would like to have V2V safety features on their personal vehicle.

“Many significant advances in roadway safety resulted from the collaborations between government, industry, and academia,” said Gregory D. Winfree, RITA Deputy Administrator. “The deployment today is the culmination of years of cooperative research on forward-thinking technology designed to save lives and prevent injuries on America’s roads.”

The information collected from both phases of the Safety Pilot, and other key research projects, will be used by NHTSA to determine by 2013 whether to proceed with additional activities involving connected vehicle technology, including possible rulemaking.

For more information on DOT’s connected vehicle research, visit www.safercar.gov/connectedvehicles.

DOT Launches 3,000-Vehicle Test Of Connected Vehicle Crash Avoidance @ Top Speed

 

[Wolfgang]

Works with the Drive Kit Plus, so can also be retrofit.


Mercedes Car-to-X due this year to make cars talk between themselves

Mercedes aims to have its cars talking with each other and warning drivers of potential hazards ahead by the end of the year, with the company the first to deliver Car-to-X wireless to its range. Described as giving drivers the ability to “see around corners”, Car-to-X allows vehicles to send out localized warnings and notifications about crashes, broken-down vehicles, police cars, animals in the road, and other potential perils, flashing up an alert on any other suitably-equipped car nearby.

In its initial incarnation, Car-to-X will use a combination of a smartphone app and Mercedes’ Drive Kit Plus system. Those with the latter – which allows the iPhone to hook up with a Mercedes, and access various car-system data – will be able to load an updated version of the Digital DriveStyle app which will have Car-to-X functionality.

Mercedes plans to install Car-to-X into its future models, but will also offer it as a upgrade for existing drivers, since Drive Kit Plus is a retrofit option. No word on how much the new functionality it will cost at this stage, however.

With Car-to-X, drivers will be able to access automatic safety data as well as manually notify others of hazards. In addition to showing alerts from emergency services about problems that are nearby, Car-to-X will make reporting new issues more straightforward from the Drive Kit Plus interface. In fact, using some of the onboard sensors Mercedes fits its cars with – such as radar and cameras – the cars themselves can automatically log hazards with no intervention from the driver.

In the future, meanwhile, Mercedes and the Car-to-X development group – of which the German company is a member – expects to integrate ad-hoc connectivity to the system. That would allow cars to create impromptu mesh networks between nearby vehicles, meaning no cellular connection from a tethered smartphone would be required.

Since the system is cross-manufacturer, Mercedes drivers would also be able to cooperate with those behind the wheel of other marques; BMW and Volkswagen are already onboard the Car 2 Car Communication Consortium pushing the standard.

Mercedes Car-to-X due this year to make cars talk between themselves

 

[Wolfgang]

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[Wolfgang]

COMAND GENERATION NTG 5.5 FEATURES CAR2CAR COMMUNICATION

Vehicles with COMAND Online of the current E-Class and S-Class not only feature the latest version of NTG 5.5, but are also the first vehicles from Mercedes-Benz with Car2Car communication. With this option, vehicles pass on information about the traffic situation or the weather to each other - and so warns of live dangers on the track.

If the vehicle with Car2Car communication registers an accident or even a ghost driver on the track, the electronics will share this with all oncoming vehicles on the track - which are also equipped with Car2Car communication. The possibility of communication was started with the introduction of the new E-Class, but also the facelift of the S-Class has now optionally received it.

The situations on the track can be varied, e.g. by hurling a vehicle with ESP intervention on an icy spot - which is reported at the same time to all other cars. Here the appropriate drivers receive an indication of road slipperiness. The communication takes place within a few seconds - depending on the strength of the mobile network over which the data is transmitted. The messages are sent via the Daimler Vehicle Backend - the "Mercedes Cloud", with the vehicle identification data being removed in the backend. The warning itself is then passed on anonymously.

As notifications, e.g. smog, heavy rain, accidents, mishaps or fog can be transmitted - but also a full stop with triggering of the hazard warning lights or later the detection of a travelling construction site. Further communications are in preparation, especially as the system is to be continuously expanded. By using the technology, information about potential dangers in road traffic is passed on to the drivers at an early stage, so that they can adapt to them and critical situations are avoided as far as possible.

The car-2-car communication is available everywhere, but it will still take a while. Mercedes-Benz estimates about 20 percent of all vehicles would need to be equipped with such a system to even notice a positive effect. The system will be expanded in the near future to the A-Class.

COMAND-Generation NTG 5.5 verfügt über Car2Car-Kommunikation - Mercedes-Benz Passion Blog / Mercedes Benz, smart, Maybach, AMG