“So if we launch automated driving in the CLA that comes next year, it will be the most sophisticated system we’ve ever done. Any new generation of Mercedes is the safest we’ve ever made because technology never stops.”
That will be on top of the systems we’ve tested today. No wonder the company predicts it will halve the number of people killed and seriously injured in accidents involving a Mercedes this decade. And that will be a welcome contribution to the quest to reduce life-changing accidents around the world.
A guided tour of Mercedes’ incredible Immendingen proving ground
Where can you drive up ramps so steep an asphalt covering would slip off, mountainous hairpins climbing 180 metres, then a motorway that crosses from France to China? At Mercedes’ Immendingen proving ground, opened in 2018.
Mercedes converted a former military site just over an hour’s drive south of Stuttgart into a 520-hectare base for car testing. Off-roading, a high-speed bowl, hot and cold weather chambers, and wet and dry handling circuits are among the site’s extensive test facilities. And the road markings, signage and conditions simulate roads from all over the globe.
Up to 400 prototypes can test at any one time, all fitted with devices relaying their locations and speeds via Mercedes’ private LTE network. There’s a huge autonomous driving test pad where the engineers mock up traffic scenarios and even deploy mobile rain and snow machines to test sensors in harsh weather. Test water is stored in tanks the size of 36,000 bath tubs.
Mercedes has constructed a city centre, complete with 500-car parking garage, to assess its vehicles on urban streets. All watched over by sheep to mow the grass, llamas to protect them from foxes, skylark nesting areas and wildlife corridors to allow animals (including a roaming bobcat) to pass safely. It’s the ultimate, eco-sensitive playground to shape future Mercedes.
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