Mercedes tech boss: 'Driving assistants should not be annoying'

The mythical self-driving car that takes you home after an evening in the café still seems far away. The assistance functions that are now available in cars are often more annoying than helpful. Yet major car brands continue to work unabated on self-driving functions and other driving assistants. How does Mercedes view this?

The EQS will soon be sold in the US with 'Level 3' autonomous driving. At this third level, the driver is allowed to take his hands off the steering wheel and does not have to pay attention to the road. You can recognize a Mercedes that drives itself in the US by the green lights. According to Mercedes CEO Markus Schäfer, this level of autonomous driving is good. He is the head of technology at Mercedes.

'I'm a big fan of that name – driver assistance. It must assist you. It shouldn't be annoying,” says Schäfer. He has been in self-driving cars that made him nervous and raised his blood pressure because he didn't know what the car's next move would be. Mercedes' autonomous functions should cause the opposite.

Which driving assistants are currently in a new Mercedes?

Mercedes also tries to only assist and let you relax with the Level 2 system. “It keeps you in the middle of the road, it overtakes and now the new cars have a lane change function, but it doesn't take any risks, I would say,” says Schäfer. A logical follow-up question is: what exactly are the differences between Level 2 and Level 3?

“So we have the very advanced Level 2 systems, but in my opinion it really gives you an advantage when you're traveling long distances. It relaxes you. You get out of the car and I mean, it was a pleasant drive and your blood pressure doesn't go up,” he says. This is the level we currently have in many cars in the Netherlands.

According to Schäfer, at level 3 you should be able to completely take your hands off the wheel, and there should be no confusion as to which mode you are currently in. It must also be very clear what the car will do for the occupants. Mercedes tries to make this distinction between level 2 and level 3 very clear: it is one or the other.

So they are not going to mix up the two levels: 'If you take Level 2 to the extreme, where you mix Level 3 features with it, then I think you very often create an uncomfortable situation, which is not really an assistive system. is.' Hands down or hands down – there is no middle ground for Mercedes.