Mercedes-Benz can now legally drive autonomously at up to 95km/h

Mercedes-Benz announced certain models will soon be able to drive autonomously at up to 95km/h on geofenced locations like highways thanks to a pending update of its advanced Drive Pilot suite.

Until now, the German car brand’s fully autonomous eyes-off-the-road tech was legally mandated to only operate up to 60km/h, but that’s set to change pending recertification of the tech by Germany’s motor transport authority.

The timing of the new announcement is important as Mercedes-Benz is set to commence sales of its Drive Pilot on its flagship models like the latest S-Class and EQS limos from early next year.

Capable of taking care of the driving duties without any input or supervision from the driver for extended periods of time, it’s thought the new tech will demand the driver to take back control with only a few seconds notice when required.

When not in control, the driver will be able to read, watch TV, text or use their laptop behind the wheel.

When in fully autonomous mode, the Benz models will display a turquoise light on the front of their carts to notify other road users it is in automated mode, a system the brand hopes will be adopted industry-wide.

Enabling it to travel autonomously, Drive Pilot employs cameras, radars, ultrasonic sensors and a LiDAR that are all used to perceive the car’s environment and processed in real-time onboard.

Drive Pilot then calculates the car’s position using data received from the different satellite systems that then positions the car accurately on an extremely detailed and continuously updated HD map, providing a 3D view of streets and surroundings.

Mercedes says it hopes in the near future the 95km/h limit will be raised to 130km/h as legislators’ faith in the tech grows, with the higher limit adopted before the end of this decade, however there’s currently no timeframe for the introduction of Drive Pilot in Australia.

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