Today we are taking a look at the official Mercedes footage showing us the new Mercedes S-Class 2021 and it's DRIVE PILOT system.

The home office will soon be mobile – including for people behind the wheel. At least if they drive a vehicle bearing the three-pointed star: for Mercedes-Benz is determined to enable, in technical terms, the safe operation of an S-Class driving in conditionally automated mode and to meet the exacting legal requirements for what is known as a Level 3 system[1]. It is expected that from the second half of 2021 the S-Class will be able to drive in conditionally automated mode with the new DRIVE PILOT, in situations where traffic density is high or in tailbacks, on suitable motorway sections in Germany. By taking pressure off the driver, this allows them to undertake secondary activities[2] such as browsing on the internet or dealing with emails in the In-Car Office, and so win extra time. Mercedes-Benz goes another step further when it comes to parking: with the appropriate pre-installation for the INTELLIGENT PARKING PILOT, the S-Class is ready for driverless highly automated parking (Automated Valet Parking; Level 4[3]). For more details see the corresponding chapter. This plan sees Mercedes-Benz taking the crucial step towards conditionally and highly automated driving (SAE Level 3 and Level 4), thereby for the first time offering its customers the possibility in a series production vehicle of handing over the task of driving to the vehicle.

For the first time, the vehicle takes control while the DRIVE PILOT is active in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. This is a paradigm change. It is Mercedes-Benz's view that the safe operation of a system of this nature can only be realised with the help of an extended sensor set. This also includes LiDAR ("Light Detection and Ranging": optical measurement of distance and speed), highly precise positioning and an HD map (digital map in high-definition quality). This ensures that the system can confidently hand over safely to the driver even in difficult situations.

While using the DRIVE PILOT, the driver can turn away from what is happening on the road and turn to certain secondary activities, be that communicating with colleagues via In-Car Office, browsing on the internet, or enjoying a relaxing seat massage. This is because in DRIVE PILOT mode, functions can be enabled that are otherwise blocked when driving. However, the driver must always be ready to retake control and immediately resume driving as necessary when the system prompts them to do so, or if it is obvious that the conditions for correct use of the DRIVE PILOT no longer apply.


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