1st drive of 2017 MBZ E-class: lane keeping is STILL inferior Tesla's

[GoTslaGo]

Guess they hadn't seen this lane assist hack on an S class

 

[Spidy]

The article said:
On a straight, well-marked freeway, following traffic ahead, the system worked great. However, as soon as lane markings on either side became too hard to read or simply dropped away, Steering Pilot would cut out — sans warning.
I guess roads in Germany are better than in USA.

But can Autopilot actually drive in such conditions? I always thought it needed either lane markings or a car to follow.
The only thing that I thought was really bad about that part was that as other have pointed out there is no warning when it disengages.

Also Mercedes is testing in California, I guess most people have seen this video:

And some of the final testing was done in Nevada so they should be more than familiar with US road conditions.

 

[Shawn Snider]

There aren't that many videos, but for example this German guy seems to be pretty satisfied with the system:
(4:40 & 9:00)

This shows the driving a bit better, unfortunately they guy didn't really understand he just had to touch the wheel and not actually take over. Later he gets it but had not 100% figured out a little touch every 1-2min is enough.

Really can't notice anything like

Is the guy in the video like 7ft tall? why are his knees nearly touching the steering wheel? My dad used to say "hey look! no hands!" while driving with his knee..

 

[Cosmacelf]

The car dropping autopilot and not telling you (except for a color change icon) is a HUGE problem. Tessa's system is barely acceptable in that regard, at least it gives you a chime (that can be obscured depending on how loud the kids are yelling), but not giving you any warning at all? That's actually MORE dangerous, which is quite a feat for a safety system.

Anyways, the bottom line is that Tesla's Autopilot is unique in the world, and still miles ahead of the competition.

 

[Krugerrand]

In the end it's all about software.. But still tesla's hardware seems rather outdated now.

How can the hardware be outdated when it does more than vehicles with much more hardware? I know there's a section of the population who thinks bigger is better (and every other version of that; more is better etc...) Part of Tesla innovation is doing more with less. If there's currently no need for a billion sensors, radar and cameras to get the currently best AP on the market, then there's no need to add cost to the car (which will be handed down to the consumer). I'm quite sure when Tesla is ready to take the next AP step, they'll adjust the car's hardware accordingly, but don't assume that'll mean having more related hardware than any other OEM car.

 

[Just a Reader]

....
meanwhile, princess Diana was killed in an MB, while you have to go over a 300 foot cliff to kill your self in a Tesla, because a high speed head on with a Honda Accura just won't do it . . . that simply kills the occupants instantly in the Honda, while the Tesla driver survives.
...
.

Well, the only person who had bothered to wear a seat belt in that Mercedes survived - despite colliding at high speed with a concrete pillar, which happens to be somewhat less yielding that an old rust bucket.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Well, the only person who had bothered to wear a seat belt in that Mercedes survived - despite colliding at high speed with a concrete pillar, which happens to be somewhat less yielding that an old rust bucket.

This is OT, but yeah, it always bothered me that the crowd Princess Di ended up hanging around with thought they were too cool to wear seat belts. The only person to wear one was the button down Buckinham palace bodyguard who no doubt took his job seriously.

 

[SR22pilot]

I think it was a sarcastic joke...

Jeff

I got that but wanted to point out that the franchised dealers stand in the way of over the air updates.

 

[Johan]

Of course MB is using the best software they have: otherwise the safety systems wouldn't be at their best, which is really the only important things and the thing that's controlling the layer below the convenience features ("Lane keeping" is the convenience "Avoid crashing in to cars next to us" is the supposed "safety feature" but they are basically the same function.

 

[KZKZ]

The E-Class Drive Pilot appears to do a lot more than Tesla's Auto Pilot.

The Mercedes will brake fully autonomously for a stationary car, or pedestrian. Even if the driver starts to brake, the system will automatically provide up to full braking to avoid an accident plus will flash the rear brake lights to warn other drivers.

The braking for crossing cars or bicycles is sort of cool too.

What I like about Mercedes' approach is they are very clear and specific about how the system works and at what speeds.

 

[LargeHamCollider]

The E-Class Drive Pilot appears to do a lot more than Tesla's Auto Pilot...

Lol, we've got a Merc fanboy here.

 

[SR22pilot]

Lol, we've got a Merc fanboy here.

Maybe he is someone who just believes that others can do good work too. I wouldn't be surprised to see companies leapfrogging each other for awhile as we move to fully autonomous systems. I also expect to see cases where car A is bette rat one thing while car B is better in another area. As an example one car might be better at lane keeping while another is better under emergency braking situations.

 

[KZKZ]

Well, to be accurate, its more like an 'autonomous braking for stationary vehicles and pedestrians' fangirl.

I don't really care which manufacturer does it, but right now MB is the only one I've found that has a comprehensive semi-autonomous product.

 

[Spidy]

Well, to be accurate, its more like an 'autonomous braking for stationary vehicles and pedestrians' fangirl.

I don't really care which manufacturer does it, but right now MB is the only one I've found that has a comprehensive semi-autonomous product.

Not just stationary cars though.

1h16m30s

 

[Beryl]

Glad to see the competition. Too bad it is an ICE.

 

[Todd Burch]

But can Autopilot actually drive in such conditions? I always thought it needed either lane markings or a car to follow.

I drive about 20-30 miles a day on surface streets using autopilot (along with another 15 or so on the highway):

Autopilot works pretty well when lane marking drop out. I cross large unmarked intersections every day on autopilot and usually have no problem. Even if the intersection is in the center of a curve, it does quite well.

If you're on the highway and the lines drop out, it will use:

1. Any cars in front to help guide.
2. Any contrast it can see in the roadway to help hold the lane.
3. Holistic path prediction (predict the future path of the roadway based on current curvature).

These three things combined help the car get through very difficult lane marking conditions.

The threshold to initiate autopilot is higher than the threshold to maintain it. In other words, it will hold a lane in conditions worse than when you'd be able to engage autopilot.

 

[Electroman]

That's correct. Over the last many months it seems to have gotten lot better on surface roads. Still a bit goofy with those white dots.

It is almost near 100% perfect on decently lane marked highways.

 

[Electroman]

The E-Class Drive Pilot appears to do a lot more than Tesla's Auto Pilot.

The Mercedes will brake fully autonomously for a stationary car, or pedestrian. Even if the driver starts to brake, the system will automatically provide up to full braking to avoid an accident plus will flash the rear brake lights to warn other drivers.

The braking for crossing cars or bicycles is sort of cool too.

What I like about Mercedes' approach is they are very clear and specific about how the system works and at what speeds.

Great animation from Mercedes. I love it. Puts Disney to shame.

I would agree with you that Telsa is several generations behind in making such cool animations. All they do is make cars with some real cool technology that I use everyday. Big deal.

 

[Boatguy]

My theory is that European roads are much better maintained than American roads - better markings. Teslas are built in California - which has some of the worst roads in the United States (our state doesn't spend enough $ maintaining our roads). And so, perhaps the neural networks Tesla trains are forced to learn on much worse data - and can thus handle worse conditions.

Our roads are bad and getting worse, in part due to no changes in the tax in many years and increasingly efficient cars which pay less and less tax per mile. Unfortunately we're now contributing to the problem, driving 5,000lb cars and not paying any road taxes at all. The state is testing a system to tax drivers based on something other than how much fuel they buy so I think we can expect such a system be implemented in time for the Model 3.

 

[xav-]

How can the hardware be outdated when it does more than vehicles with much more hardware? I know there's a section of the population who thinks bigger is better (and every other version of that; more is better etc...) Part of Tesla innovation is doing more with less. If there's currently no need for a billion sensors, radar and cameras to get the currently best AP on the market, then there's no need to add cost to the car (which will be handed down to the consumer). I'm quite sure when Tesla is ready to take the next AP step, they'll adjust the car's hardware accordingly, but don't assume that'll mean having more related hardware than any other OEM car.

Note your key word there.

Currently that is the case. But we are talking about a $70k+ car here, not a $500 cell phone. People intend to keep this for many years. There will be a point where current autopilot hardware will not be sufficient anymore.