Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse INTELLIGENT DRIVE fährt autonom auf ...

Pioneering achievement: Autonomous long-distance drive in rural and
urban traffic
Mercedes-Benz S-Class INTELLIGENT DRIVE
drives autonomously in the tracks of Bertha Benz
Press Information
September 9 th 2013
Stuttgart. When it sent its S 500 INTELLIGENT DRIVE research vehicle
along a historic route in August 2013, Mercedes-Benz became the first
motor manufacturer to demonstrate the feasibility of autonomous driving
on both interurban and urban routes. The route in question, covering the
100 kilometres or so from Mannheim to Pforzheim, retraced that taken by
motoring pioneer Bertha Benz exactly 125 years ago when she boldly set
off on the very first long-distance drive. In the heavy traffic of the 21st
century the self-driving S-Class had to deal autonomously with a number
of highly complex situations – traffic lights, roundabouts, pedestrians,
cyclists and trams. It should be noted that this trailblazing success was
not achieved using extremely expensive special technology, but with the
aid of near-production-standard technology, very similar to that already
found in the new E and S-Class. The project thus marks a milestone along
the way that leads from the self-propelled (automobile) to the self-driving
(autonomous) vehicle.
In August 1888, Bertha Benz set off on her famous first long-distance automobile
journey from Mannheim to Pforzheim. In doing so, the wife of Carl Benz
demonstrated the suitability of the Benz patent motor car for everyday use and
thus paved the way for the worldwide success of the automobile. Precisely 125
years later, in August 2013, Mercedes-Benz recorded a no less spectacular
pioneering achievement following the same route. Developed on the basis of the
new Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the S 500 INTELLIGENT DRIVE research vehicle
autonomously covered the approximately 100 kilometres between Mannheim
Daimler Communications, 70546 Stuttgart/Germany
Mercedes-Benz - A Daimler Brand