While Tesla chooses to remove radar and ultrasonic sensors from its cars to aid driving, Mercedes will install LiDAR in its vehicles. The German firm could then outperform Elon Musk’s firm. But the latter does not believe in LiDAR at all. The fight has only begun!
As we know, Elon Musk is not a fan of LiDAR at all, that ultra-technological radar whose name stands for ” Light detection and range“capable of analyzing its environment with great precision. Tesla boss says speed cameras are ineffective and even decided to remove them from their cars, replacing them entirely with cameras. However, more and more manufacturers are deciding to use LiDAR to improve the behavior of driving aids.
a new partnership
This is especially the case of Mercedes, which has just formalized through a press release the signing ofa partnership with Luminar, a company specialized in the development of autonomous driving technologies. This collaboration will then allow the brand with the starintegrate millions of LiDAR sensors into your future vehicles. A big first, while it currently only uses LiDAR on certain cars: the EQS and S-Class equipped with the Drive Pilot option, Level 3 autonomous driving.
For now, and as the site explains automotive newsMercedes has not detailed the name of the models that will be equipped with this technology, but it is quite probable that this will be the case for the future E-Class, whose interior has just been made official. The EQS and the S-Class already support level 3 autonomous driving in Germany, as well as in Nevada, in particular thanks to its LiDAR.
An approval that then allows the German firm to take a good step ahead of Tesla. And it is not for less, the American manufacturer is currently confined to level 2 of the Old Continent, while the FSD (Full self-driving), which resembles nivuea 3 autonomous driving, which we were able to test, is still in beta testing in the United States. And this shouldn’t change immediately, as the company is under investigation following a violent accident involving a Tesla whose autopilot reportedly failed.
A step forward
But then, what is the interest of Mercedes in using a LiDAR, as in Volvo, Lotus or even Nio, when its level 3 autonomous driving seems already advanced? This type of sensor should allow, in particular, driving without human intervention. in wider conditions and at higher speeds. If European regulations authorize level 3 up to 130 km/h, the Mercedes Drive Pilot is only approved up to 60 km/h, as a precaution.
Therefore, the arrival of this new LiDAR thanks to the partnership with Luminar, which also works with Volvo and Nissan, should offer new possibilities for the manufacturer, which is taking the opposite direction from Tesla. However, the Texas-based firm plans to release a new version of its software dubbed HW4 (Hardware 4), which will debut on Cybertruck. If it only used cameras, through the Tesla Vision system, it could be that radars are making a comeback.
A rumor mentioned since last spring that would have been confirmed through official documents. But we should know more on March 1 during Investor Day organized by Elon Musk, during which he could also unveil the future Tesla Model 2. The leader might also be interested in the technology unveiled by Plastic Omnium during CES in Las Vegas on last january. .
It is then a 4D millimeter radar announced as even more efficient than a LiDAR and simpler to integrate, while consuming less. An important point, especially for electric cars in order to maximize autonomy. But for now we will have to settle for conventional radars, while the technology developed by the French firm would not be not mass produced before 2026.
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