In an amazing update of its future safety technology, Mercedes-Benz on Friday issued a report that details its plans for “intelligent driver assistance systems.” In short, the German automaker said a new generation of technologies, including “video-based assistance functions,” is on the horizon that will increasingly help drivers operate their vehicles with an eye toward preventing accidents.
“These systems have the ability to make predictive interpretations of critical driving situations and then issue timely warnings to drivers — or even intervene autonomously if there is imminent danger,” the company said in a statement. The technologies move Mercedes-Benz well past its vaunted “PreSafe” system, which preps the car in the microseconds before a crash by doing such things as slowing the car down, adjusting the seats and rolling up the windows.
Mercedes said it is currently testing the “second stage” of the PreSafe brake, which “involves initiating an automatic emergency braking maneuver if a collision becomes unavoidable. This will lead to a further substantial reduction of impact energy,” it said.
A prototype system also uses a stereo camera that recognizes cars, cyclists and pedestrians as they approach the vehicle from the side. The system predicts direction of motion and calculates the likelihood of an accident in advance. The automaker said another system “will remind drivers in the future to obey speed limits by 'reading' traffic signs and transmitting their images to a cockpit display in the vehicle.
“This technology will be used further down the line to also register stop signs, yield signs and traffic lights,” Mercedes-Benz said.
A lane assistant system will feature a vibrating steering wheel to alert drivers when they have moved out of a lane. If the driver ignores the system, it will “put the vehicle back on the proper course by initiating a targeted braking maneuver on one of the wheels,” the company said.
A new Mercedes lane-changing system uses six radar sensors that monitor the area behind the sides of the vehicle to help with blind spots. If a vehicle is in the car's blind spot, a red warning light will appear in the side mirror. The system then sounds an alarm if the driver doesn't notice the red light and even turns on the blinker by itself in advance of the driver changing lanes.
