Bosch and Daimler join forces to work on fully automated, driverless system
Co-development agreement between Bosch and Daimler seeks to bring introduction of fully automated and driverless driving by the beginning of the next decade. Objective is to develop and launch a production-ready system for driverless cars on urban public roads.
STUTTGART, Germany and SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bosch and Daimler are joining forces to advance the development of fully automated and driverless driving. The two companies have entered into a development agreement to bring fully automated (SAE Level 4) and driverless (SAE Level 5) driving to urban roads by the beginning of the next decade. The objective is to develop software and algorithms for an autonomous driving system. The project combines the total vehicle expertise of the world's leading premium manufacturer with the system and hardware expertise of the world's biggest supplier. The ensuing synergies should ensure the earliest possible series introduction of the secure technology.
The car comes to the driver
By introducing fully automated and driverless driving to the urban environment, Bosch and Daimler aim to improve the flow of traffic in cities, enhance safety on the road and provide an important building block for the way traffic will work in the future. The technology will, among other things, boost the attraction of car sharing. It will allow people to make the best possible use of their time in the vehicle and open up new mobility opportunities for people without a driver's license, for example. The prime objective of the project is to achieve the production-ready development of a driving system which will allow cars to drive fully autonomously in the city. The idea behind it is that the vehicle should come to the driver rather than the other way round. Within a specified area of town, costumers will be able to order an automated shared car via their smartphone. The vehicle will then make its way autonomously to the user and the onward journey can commence.
Further information about Mercedes-Benz is available online:
www.media.daimler.com and www.mbrdna.com
Daimler at a glance
Daimler AG is one of the world's most successful automotive companies. With its Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Buses, and Daimler Financial Services divisions, the Group is one of the leading global suppliers of premium cars and is the world's largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles. Daimler Financial Services offers financing, leasing, fleet management, insurance, investments and credit cards as well as innovative mobility services. The company founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, made history by inventing the automobile in 1886. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, Daimler continues to shape the future of mobility today by focusing on innovative and green technologies as well as on safe and superior vehicles that captivate and inspire. Daimler consistently invests in the development of alternative drivetrains – from hybrid cars to full electric vehicles with battery and fuel cell – with the goal of making zero-emission driving possible in the long term. Moreover, the company is actively promoting accident-free driving and intelligent networking all the way through to self-driving cars. This is just one example of how Daimler willingly accepts the challenge of meeting its responsibility towards society and the environment.
Daimler sells its vehicles and services in nearly all countries of the world and has production facilities in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. In addition to Mercedes-Benz, which is the world's most valuable premium automotive brand, Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach and Mercedes me, Daimler's current brand portfolio also includes smart, EQ, Freightliner, Western Star, BharatBenz, FUSO, Setra and Thomas Built Buses, as well as the Daimler Financial Services brands Mercedes-Benz Bank, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Daimler Truck Financial, moovel, car2go and mytaxi. The company is listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges (ticker symbol DAI). In 2016, the Group employed a total workforce of 282,488 and sold some 3 million vehicles. Revenue totalled €153.3 billion and EBIT amounted to €12.9 billion.
About CASE
CASE – these letters will shape the future of Mercedes-Benz Cars. They stand for the strategic pillars of connectivity (Connected), autonomous driving (Autonomous), flexible use (Shared & Services) and electric drive systems (Electric), which will be intelligently combined with one another by the company. Mercedes-Benz Cars already plays a leading role in all four areas. For example, all activities in the area of connectivity are focused on the digital brand Mercedes me, which gives customers access to an extensive and personalised range of services by app, website or straight from their car. On the way to autonomous driving, Mercedes-Benz has for years been a key driver of development and has repeatedly set the benchmark. To this end, the Mercedes engineers use what is known as sensor fusion. The data from different sensors, such as cameras, ultrasound and radar, are intelligently combined and analysed. When it comes to sharing, too, the inventor of the car is a pioneer with car2go. With some two million users the company is the world's biggest provider in the area of free-floating car-sharing. Mercedes-Benz is pursuing a holistic approach regarding the electrification of the drivetrain. Apart from the EQ brand with a family of vehicles, Mercedes-Benz is also developing a holistic ecosystem, which, alongside the vehicle itself, also comprises a comprehensive range of electric mobility-related offerings. This extends from intelligent services to energy storage units for private and commercial customers as well as charging technologies, such as inductive charging, to sustainable recycling. The activities are bundled into a new organisation in order to drive forward the equal development of all four pillars.
SOURCE Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America, Inc.
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