Published on July 9th, 2013 | by Daniel Sherman Fernandez
0Cars With Eyes and Ears
European automotive executives are bullish about the future of automated driving but they say it will take time for regulations to catch up with technology. They also say that no one wants to remove the fun of being behind the wheel. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche stressed the second point during the world premiere of the Mercedes-Benz S class in May. He said the automaker’s flagship sedan “marks the start of the era of partially autonomous driving.” With its six “eyes” (cameras) and six “ears” (radar sensors), the S class can see and hear enough to drive itself at speeds up to 60kph (37mph), Zetsche said. According to the CEO, the ultimate goal is to remove the boring parts of driving but keep the fun. “We will never automate the cool part of driving … the uncool part, though, we can do without,” he said during the car’s launch.