Forget all about the Google Car, Mercedes S-Class can already do it, drive on it’s own. This is without doubt an incredible stupid and reckless thing to do, so please don’t copy it. The Mercedes S-Class has Active Lane Assistant (ALA), basically a hands-off autonomous cruse system with an automated safety time out.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv9JYqhFV-M[/youtube]Normally ALA requires you to keep on hand wheel after a certain amount of time, or the system disengages. Lane markings and weather conditions also have to be clear enough for the sensors to see the road. But apparently ALA can’t distinguish between a human hand and a bottle of soda duct-taped to the wheel.
This is both awesome and troubling at the same time. And seriously, don’t be stupid enough and try this. But it shows how close we are to a hands-free commute in not to distant Google-Future.
Thank you RoadTrack for providing us with this information.
Image and video courtesy of RoadTrack.
