LG, Mercedes-Benz Team Up For Self-Driving Technology

Mercedes-Benz has teamed up with LG to make their luxury vehicles smarter and safer. The two organizations are going to collaborate to make Mercedes vehicles more intelligent in order to take some of the stress of everyday driving off of motorists and into the hands of a highly advanced computer system.

Woo-Jong Lee, President and CEO of the LG Vehicle Components Company explained the vision of the partnership from the LG perspective. Lee said, “Mercedes-Benz is the ideal partner for LG as both companies share a vision of how ADAS technologies can improve the wellbeing and lives of all consumers. As the automobile evolves from a mechanical to an electronic system, LG will be in the perfect position to contribute its experience to the exciting automotive industry.”

In a YouTube video, released by Mercedes-Benz, Dr. Uwe Franke, the Head of Project Management of the 6D Division, drove in a vehicle equipped with the specialized cameras. During the video, translated from German into English, the capability of the vehicles is explained. Using coloring on an LCD screen mounted in the vehicle, possible obstacles are displayed showing strong concentrations of a certain color. The vehicle is supposed to be able to recognize the obstacle with the help of the camera and avoid the hazard with the use of brakes or slowing down, all without the approval of the driver. The system can also determine the speed and direction of motion of the possibly hazardous object. The Mercedes-Benz vehicle equipped with the specialty cameras is supposed to be able to become an intelligent advocate for motorists in an increasingly distracted world. How will this new twist in the self-driving space impact the autonomous vehicle industry?

Fully self-driving cars could be on the road via Google as soon as 2017, however, companies such as Tesla Motors are aiming for self-driving components to be a part of their vehicles as soon as 2019. The Tesla edition of the self-driving setup is supposed to be more “auto pilot” than fully autonomous, which appears to be the direction being taken by Mercedes-Benz. With back-up cameras and active lane keeping assist components already in play in certain vehicles, it’s possible that if vehicles become self-driving it will occur not all-at-once, but one component at a time. Do you think self-driving cars will be on public roads in the United States before 2020?