[SystemSafety] Mercedes and Autonomous Driving

[M Ellims]

Phil Koopman wrote:  I suppose the general idea is that at slower speeds in a traffic jam you're less likely to see crazy unstructured things happen too suddenly for the car to react.

 

Low speed operation generally would imply accidents will have a lower momentum (in a crash momentum is conserved, kinetic energy isn’t).

 

Highway operation implies there are fewer VRU’s i.e. no pedestrians or cyclists.

 

Hence the expected severity of any screw-up is lower, so liability claims will likewise be lower.

 

From: systemsafety [mailto:systemsafety-bounces at lists.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de] On Behalf Of Phil Koopman
Sent: 10 December 2021 13:27
To: The System Safety List
Subject: Re: [SystemSafety] Mercedes and Autonomous Driving

 


UN rule 157/ALKS features are often "traffic jam pilot."

The presumption, at least in discussions I've seen to date, is that the driver will only engage it in traffic congestion because they'd otherwise be in too much of a hurry to let it keep working in free flowing traffic.  I suppose the general idea is that at slower speeds in a traffic jam you're less likely to see crazy unstructured things happen too suddenly for the car to react. (Not necessarily endorsing this; just summarizing.)

Honda also released an ALKS feature (Japan is said to use essentially the same standard), but has produced at most 100 pilot production vehicles.

I interpret this as baby steps to deploying highly automated vehicles.

Kind regards,
Phil



On 12/10/2021 6:59 AM, Dewi Daniels wrote:

Peter, 

 

It reminds me of the queue assistant feature on my BMW.  It will steer the car automatically, but only if the car is on a motorway, its speed is less than 35 mph and both the driver's hands are on the steering wheel.  You might think it could be useful in road works, but no, it complains the lanes are too narrow. I did manage to use the queue assistant feature in rush hour traffic on the M42 the other day, though the amount of steering input required when driving at less than 35 mph on a motorway is minimal in any case.

 

The main difference between this MB system and the BMW system seems to be that the driver is allowed to take their hands off the wheel.

 

I suspect these systems are being added so that the manufacturers can gain experience that can be applied to future, more functional systems.


Yours,

Dewi Daniels | Director | Software Safety Limited

Telephone +44 7968 837742 | Email d <mailto:ddaniels at verocel.com> ewi.daniels at software-safety.com

Software Safety Limited is a company registered in England and Wales. Company number: 9390590. Registered office: Fairfield, 30F Bratton Road, West Ashton, Trowbridge, United Kingdom BA14 6AZ

 

 

On Fri, 10 Dec 2021 at 11:38, John Spriggs <the.johnspriggs at googlemail.com> wrote:

"Autobahn-similar" probably refers to the relative lack of junctions or pedestrians, and the presence of a central barrier - the car just has to drive slower than other road users, like a certain supermarket's lorries in the UK.

 

John

 

On Fri, 10 Dec 2021 at 11:27, Peter Bernard Ladkin <ladkin at causalis.com> wrote:

I read in my local newspaper this morning that Mercedes-Benz have got the worldwide first "type 
certificate" for self-driving systems. It is called a "Drive Pilot"; it follows UN rule 157, and it 
allows hands-free driving at a maximum of 69kph along "autobahn-similar roads". The article says 
this covers quite a few Autobahnen, but I can't see how this can be -- the only 60kph limits on 
Autobahnen are in narrow lanes past road works.

"Type certificate" means that the German road vehicle authority has issued a permit for its use on 
German roads. It will be in the S-class Merc and the electric Pendant EQS.

PBL

Prof. i.R. Dr. Peter Bernard Ladkin, Bielefeld, Germany
Tel+msg +49 (0)521 880 7319  www.rvs-bi.de




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-- 
Phil Koopman    m: 412-260-5955     <mailto:phil.koopman at hushmail.com> <phil.koopman at hushmail.com>
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