Mercedes-Benz Robotaxi Ecosystem Launches With New S-Class
Mercedes-Benz is pioneering a new era of automated driving as it accelerates development of a Mercedes-Benz robotaxi ecosystem. The carmaker builds on its legacy of innovation and has chosen the new S-Class as its ideal vehicle. The model pairs luxury with safety and cutting-edge technology. The industry calls its capability ‘fail-safe operation’. The S-Class integrates redundancies for steering, braking, computing, and power supply. MB.OS also positions the car as a strong launchpad for a driverless shuttle service across America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
An open ecosystem needs the best minds in the industry. Mercedes-Benz, therefore, advances SAE Level 4 development through projects worldwide with leading partners. The company also leverages the potential of its proprietary operating system, MB.OS, to support autonomous taxi services at scale.
“Mercedes-Benz is the pioneer in safe autonomous driving. The next step on our roadmap is to enable a robotaxi experience based on the new S-Class. To accomplish our goal, we have strong industry-leading partners at our side. For us, these partnerships mark the beginning of our entry into the robotaxi market with the S-Class and MB.OS as the ultimate platform”, said Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Chief Technology Officer, Development & Procurement.
Mercedes-Benz and NVIDIA are collaborating with Uber to build a robotaxi ecosystem based on the new S-Class. NVIDIA will implement its NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion architecture and full-stack NVIDIA DRIVE AV L4 software. NVIDIA will also enhance the platform with NVIDIA Alpamayo open AI models, simulation tools and datasets. These capabilities aim to deliver reasoning-based, safety-first autonomy. Mercedes-Benz and NVIDIA also build on a strong track record in automated driving development. Mercedes uses NVIDIA’s expertise in AI-based software development to support its new generation of ADAS systems.
At the end of last year, the carmaker announced another Level 4 project with Momenta to develop a robotaxi experience based on the new S-Class. The mobility provider Lumo, a subsidiary of the technology company K2, plans to operate the shuttles first in Abu Dhabi, with additional locations to follow. The team will deploy the first S-Class robotaxi test vehicles on Abu Dhabi roads later this year.
