Automotive giant Mercedes-Benz is throwing down the gauntlet in the technological war for autonomous driving, planning to implement a revolutionary city autopilot system in Germany by the end of this year. The premium brand from Stuttgart is striving to be among the first players to offer such an advanced software solution in the highly regulated European market. The goal is ambitious - vehicles can move completely independently from point to point on complex city streets, Reuters reports.
The challenge for engineers here is cosmic compared to driving on a highway, where traffic is predictable! In the urban jungle, artificial intelligence must react in milliseconds to pedestrians, suddenly popping out cyclists and chaotic repair work. The brand's Chief Technical Officer Jörg Burser announced that the innovative complex, called MB.DRIVE ASSIST PRO, will initially make its debut on the streets of Stuttgart and Munich. The plan is to expand the geographical scope of the technology nationwide from 2027, with the project being developed under the direct supervision of the country's Ministry of Transport.
In technical terms, the system is the result of a large-scale partnership with the American technology leader in chips Nvidia. Thanks to the brute computing power and the army of sensors, cars with the three-pointed star will be able to independently recognize traffic lights, rearrange the body in the correct lanes and navigate in heavy traffic. However, European regulations remain conservative: everything will happen under the obligatory, alert gaze of the driver, who must be ready to take control at any moment. An interesting fact is that while the technology is only just now entering Europe, it is already operating successfully in China, and its debut in the US is scheduled for the end of 2026.
However, the battle on the Old Continent will be serious. American pioneer Tesla is currently aggressively paving the way for certification of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in the European Union, having already secured initial green lights in the Netherlands and Lithuania. To top it off, Mercedes' eternal enemy - the Bavarians from BMW - is preparing an absolutely mirror-image response and also plans to launch its urban autopilot on German soil at the end of the year. However, the German government, represented by Transport Minister Patrick Schneider, is firmly supporting the local industry and is rushing with administrative approvals, wanting to turn the country into a global center of attraction for autonomous mobility.