Mercedes-Benz and Silicon Valley
A few weeks ago, during the Los Angeles Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz had invited several journalists to attend the official opening of its new research and development centre. Formerly located in Palo Alto and now in Sunnyvale in the famous Silicon Valley, Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America (MBRDNA) is focusing on advanced technologies and on green programs rather than on mechanics.
If you’re into rods and clutches you’ll be disappointed: this facility is as spotless as an operating room. And you should get used to disappointment like this, because cars are slowly but surely becoming less about mechanics and more about computers. At a recent gathering of automobile journalists, we joked that in a few years we’ll all have to work the technology beat instead. We laughed, but deep down we all know that the idea may not be all that farfetched.
MBRDNA is located 8 km from the offices of Google and Apple and 16 km from Facebook. Welcome to Cyber City, USA! The brand-new building seems larger than it actually is. Steeped in Silicon Valley culture, its offices are airy, have lots of windows and there are numerous conference, relaxation and – best of all – game rooms. The approximately 100 employees can also work outdoors in beautiful spaces specially designed to get the creative juices flowing. Only in California! Try doing that in Canada in January and see how fast the creative juices turn into popsicles... Note that Mercedes has 22 research facilities in 22 countries employing no less than 13,000 people.
During the opening ceremony of the research centre, the folks from Mercedes-Benz activated a huge sculpture of the company logo right in front of the main entrance, and it began to spin. Imagine that – the first spinning Mercedes-Benz symbol. That alone made the trip across the continent worthwhile.
But what do they do in these new offices? In a nutshell, they do technology research and development. For example, among MBRDNA’s responsibilities is telematics, user experiences, global applications and autonomous driving. The day of our visit, several stations were set up to showcase the various operations of the research centre. We noted three of them.
Integration of various driver assistance systems
For several years already, some of Mercedes-Benz’s European cars have included a system that can read speed limit signs, provided that the signs are round and white, encircled in red, and the red number indicating the speed is in the centre. They stand out very well visually, both in rural and urban settings. In North America, our road signs feature a black number on a white background and are rectangular. Thus, the engineers must reprogram the system so that it can recognize speed limit signs among all those other rectangles, especially in the city (buildings, trucks, buses, etc.).
Similarly, Mercedes recently developed technology that helps cars drive themselves. Advances like that don’t happen by accident, so everything, and I mean everything, must be programmed to be prepared for any and all incidents. For example, intersections in North America are generally larger their European and Asian counterparts. Thus, the system has to be reprogrammed for that too.
Communications control
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe concept car integrates a feature that strengthens the bond between the driver and the car even more. For example, if the driver and passengers have skis equipped with Bluetooth technology (yes, that exists), the car’s centre screen will automatically display the closest ski resorts or the ski resort that the car has visited most often. The only thing left for the driver to do is accept or refuse the invitation. This technology will be officially introduced in a few weeks at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas.
Car2x
Finally, Car2x brings us one step closer to autonomous driving. It’s a system that allows you to communicate between cars equipped with this device. For example, if your Mercedes-Benz with Car2x breaks down on the side of the road, just press a button on the dashboard (or on your Google watch!) and all other drivers whose Mercedes are equipped with this system will be notified of the incident. The GPS on the centre screen will maintain the alert until you pass the immobilized car. It goes without saying that this technology is likely to become very popular, and not just at Mercedes.
Check out our photo gallery to learn more about our day at MBRDNA!