Mercedes dials up the speed of its hands-free, eyes-off Drive Pilot feature
Mercedes-Benz AG
Drive Pilot, Mercedes-Benz’s Level 3 “conditionally automated driving” feature, is getting a speed bump. The system will now support speeds of up to 95km/h (59mph) on German motorways, a sign that the automaker is feeling bullish about its boundary-pushing technology.
Mercedes is still waiting for approval from German regulators before pushing out a software update to customers of vehicles that support Drive Pilot. But once that happens, the company boasts that it will have “the world’s fastest Level 3 system in a series-production vehicle.”
Drive Pilot is similar to “hands-free” highway driving systems like GM’s Super Cruise, Ford’s BlueCruise, and Tesla’s Autopilot in so far that it allows drivers to take their hands off the steering...