Mercedes Autonomous Taxiing in Style

Mercedes-Benz Autonomous Taxi Fleet Deployed in San Jose, CA

Source:  Mercedes Benz - Autonomous Taxiing in Style

Level 4 Autonomous Driving
Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and the German tech giant Bosch have launched a self-driving car project in San Jose, CA. They're using a fleet of 30 autonomous MB S-class vehicles as a hailing taxi service.  You might call it autonomous taxiing in luxury style.  The program just got underway and initially only a select group of users can hail the self-driving vehicles.  These vehicles are capable of Level 4 driving.  Level 4 is fully automated navigation with little to no human input or oversight needed.  Daimler is testing the vehicles for reliability and safety. Separately, Bosch just announced a breakthrough, less expensive lidar sensor that could accelerate widespread use of autonomous cars. (News details in my previous blog).

Mercedes Car2Go
To summon a ride in San Jose, the user connects to Daimler's Car2Go car-sharing service.  The user also taps into Daimler's MyTaxi and Moovel.  Moovel is an app that compares the price and ride duration on a number of alternative travel modes like public transit. The system enables the user to summon a Mercedes self-driving taxi.

Autonomous and Electric Driving Future
The Mercedes-Bosch autonomous cars are operating during daylight hours when demand is at the highest.  As a precaution, safety operators sit behind the wheel to monitor each trip and take the controls if needed. MB has also tested conventional taxi hailing services, with drivers behind the wheels in Germany and San Francisco.  Mercedes is developing a future of autonomous and electric driving mobility.