Technology/Autonomous Vehicles

An Autonomous Bus by Mercedes-Benz

by Frédérick Boucher-Gaulin
Mercedes-Benz CityPilot
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Photo: Mercedes-Benz

In addition to autonomous cars and trucks, Mercedes-Benz went one step further by showing an autonomous bus in front of a crowd in Amsterdam. The vehicle completed a 19.3-km course, went through tunnels and intersections and negotiated tricky corners without a single input from the driver.

The Future Bus Concept is one of the most logical applications for autonomous vehicles: since buses only make short trips around the city with lots of stops, it would make sense to eliminate the driver from the equation.

Mercedes-Benz’s autonomous system is an evolution of Highway Pilot: dubbed City Pilot, it actually makes use of a variety of systems to know where it is, such as GPS, infrared sensors and cameras. It can also use V2X systems, which communicates with objects (such as specific beacons) on the road.

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