Mercedes-Benz has taken a big step forward in its efforts to produce a self-driving car, partnered with Luminar to enter the last Lidar Iris technology in the Mercedes-Benz vehicle. This partnership will provide a significant technology excellence company for some rivals while helping to build success that has been enjoyed in the self-driving market.
Self-driving vehicles are the next big evolution of the car, with almost every major manufacturer working to bring a safe and effective system to the market. One of the biggest, and clearest challenges, creating a system that will help vehicle identify obstacles and dangers, and avoid it.
Instead of rediscovering the wheels (game words), Mercedes-Benz partnered with Luminar, one of the leaders in the Lidar market. Luminar already has a partnership with Volvo, Daimler Truck AG, Nvidia, and Intel Mobileye, besides Mercedes-Benz.
Why Lidar is very important for self-driving efforts
Austin Russell and Markus Schäfer
The Lidar system uses a laser to measure the distance from the vehicle to the surrounding object. It gives the vehicle the ability to “see” objects around it and make the necessary adjustments and correct courses.
One of the things that Luminar Separate set is the distance in which the LIDAR system can detect and classify objects, with the company claiming an effective range of 250 meters (820ft). At 250 meters, the Luminar system can identify objects, traffic lines, and detect dark objects at night, such as black cars or tires in the middle of the road.
Mercedes-Benz has been set to sell level 3 autonomous vehicles in 2022 (via Insideevs). Autonomous vehicles are ranked by level, with level 0 does not have automation and level 5 does not require human drunken, does not even provide steering wheel or steering method for humans to take over (through synopsis). Instead, humans are effectively only passengers, notify the car where they want to be taken. As a reference, Autopilot Tesla and Super Cruise GM are considered level 2, which means Mercedes-Benz Level 3 vehicles in 2022 are significant forward steps.
The company clearly sees the luminner partnership as a way to further encourage automatic vehicle development. Markus Schäfer, member of the Daimler Ag and Mercedes-Benz Ag and Mercedes-Benz Board, Chief Technology Officer responsible for the development and procurement, said:
Luminar is the perfect addition to the list of our first class cooperation with leading and up-to-date technology companies. Mercedes-Benz’s achievements from SAE Level 3 have marked a large milestone for automatic driving and I am really sure that the partnership will increase our level of ambition for what might happen in the future. Collaboration is an important part of the Mercedes-Benz strategy. Because of that, I was very happy to have Austin Russell and Luminar on our trip.