Dhe developers’ dream of car and driver merging becomes a little more real, starting with the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class. It used to be understood as the connection to the engine, chassis and steering wheel. In the future, what is meant is a software architecture that takes care of all the driver’s wishes, ideally before he even knows what he wants or is about to do. Does every car fan welcome that?
The road seems unstoppable, Chinese customers supposedly can’t get enough of it, America and Europe are following or have to follow. Incidentally, the advance of the nerds opens up a source that may flow to compensate for the pressure on margins due to the transformation to electromobility.
Green interior ambience on weekdays, red light atmosphere on weekends? The Mercedes knows its owner and adjusts his preferences automatically. Trouble in the office? Records and transmits the heart rate measuring Apple Watch, the on-board computer sends soft music, fragrance and massage. sitting position? radio stations? Restaurant selection dependent on rating? Youtube video streaming? Sudoku on break? Everything is served precisely by artificial intelligence.
Mercedes wants to keep the customer data in their hands
The software encompasses the entire calculation chain, is being developed by Mercedes-Benz and is used by the major players in Silicon Valley as required. No one should mirror their phone in the car anymore, Mercedes wants to hold the customer data in their hands. Also because business models can be developed from this, income can be generated via remotely activated additional functions.
Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MBOS) is the name of the most ambitious digital expansion stage, which is to be rolled out to full effect from 2025 onwards, focusing on the electric car fleet. It runs in the background simultaneously both in the on-board computer and in the cloud and acts as the central nervous system. Instead of up to 150 control units, the car is to be controlled via four domains. Tesla is already taking a similar approach, Volkswagen has failed with its subsidiary Cariad and is now thinking of 2028.
In the Mercedes, the domains of drive and chassis tuning, semi-autonomous driving, charging strategy and infotainment depend on it. The latter is known to customers as MBUX, widely praised for its good voice recognition. In the now third generation, it should be able to listen to commands and understand several loosely spoken sentences. Follow-up questions are answered with AI programs like ChatGPT. It goes something like this: “Hey Mercedes, is there a national park nearby?” Pause for five seconds, then the computer answers: “Yes, Yosemite Park is a three-hour drive away, it has spectacular nature to offer.” Are there bears there?” Five seconds pause. “Yes, there are bears there.” – “And can I pet a bear?” Three seconds pause. “Better not. Bears can be dangerous and run faster than you.” Result: trip to the park, but kids prefer to stay in the car if a grizzly shows up. You can also know things like that, a lot can be explained by common sense, but the new possibilities that are opening up seem considerable, frightening, inspiring.
First harbingers in the new E-Class
Customer experience in the sense of the advertising slogan “The best or nothing” is at the top of the requirement profile, there is no longer any consideration for friends or relatives. So the decision was made to rely on the navigation data from Google in the future, not on that of the provider Here, in which Mercedes has a stake.
The first harbingers can be experienced in the new E-Class, which will be launched in the summer. A camera is mounted in the center of the dashboard, intended for serious video conferencing via Webex or Zoom and fun selfies on the optional large screen. Driver monitoring, which is becoming mandatory, has its lens almost invisible on the screen behind the steering wheel. Mercedes says they are looking to a future in which cars will never age. What is now meant in terms of software. Asks our workshop foreman, who suffers a little from hours of updates: Who is supposed to service and repair it? “Hey Mercedes” definitely knows the answer.
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