Mercedes-Benz has just hit Tesla hard with its Drive Pilot system in the race for self-driving cars. The Drive Pilot system is already a reality that can be installed optionally in the S-Class and EQS. At the same time, the technology of Elon Musk, on the other hand, is an eternal promise that, for the moment, has remained in a beta that only a few chosen users test for its development in the United States and Canada.
This technology controls the speed and distance from other vehicles and guides the car within its lane. It analyzes and considers the route's profile, the events that occur, and the traffic signs. It also reacts to unexpected traffic situations and manages them autonomously, through evasive maneuvers within the lane or by braking the vehicle.
The main weakness of this system is that it is only approved to be used on some motorway sections in Germany, at a speed of up to 60 kilometers per hour, which practically limits it to slow traffic jams. Another disadvantage is that it does not allow you to change lanes, and all maneuvers are carried out on the road you are in. But, of course, both inconveniences respond to a purely legislative issue, being the German state which has put limits on the Drive Pilot, since in the Level 2 autonomous driving systems that Mercedes already offers in its vehicles, the active assistant for lane change is included to carry out overtaking entirely autonomously. The speed in the adaptive cruise control can be used even above the road's legal speed.
