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Mercedes-Benz to Bring Optional Autonomous Driving by 2020

As you all might already know, Mercedes-Benz has developed an in house R&D program in the field of autonomous driving which has so far culminated with the S 500 Intelligent Drive near-production concept car, based on the W222 generation of the “Sonder Klasse”.
Mercedes-Benz S 500 Intelligent Drive 23 photos
Photo: Daimler AG
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Using a stereo camera that can “see in 3d”, along with a range of short and long-wave radars, the Mercedes-Benz S 500 Intelligent Drive took a 104 km (65 miles) drive completely by itself in Germany back in August.

Part of its technology is already available and can offer semi-autonomous driving on the current W222 S-Class and the facelifted E-Class, but Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will offer the full package as an option on its road-going models by the year 2020.

“Our approach is, let’s not do it with a special car with a lot of antennas, let’s do it with a standard car. We have the first autonomous driving function available for our customers in the new S-Class: Stop & Go Pilot.” Thomas Weber, head of product engineering for Mercedes-Benz cars told Forbes.

Apparently, the enhanced autonomous driving function found on the Intelligent Drive concept car will soon be available as an option for road-going models starting most likely with the facelifted W222 S-Class, which should arrive in about three years' time. Tomorrow we shall bring you a coverstory detailing the history and evolution of autonomous driving technologies at Mercedes-Benz, so you might want to stay tuned to the Coverstory section of our website.

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About the author: Alex Oagana
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Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project.
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