Mercedes-Benz teams up with Luminar on self-driving tech

The Mercedes-Benz brand is pictured at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Exhibit (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany, September 10, 2019. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo

San Francisco, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz will partner with self-driving sensor maker Luminar Technologies Inc (LAZR.O) to enable entirely automatic driving on highways for its subsequent-generation cars, Luminar’s founder explained.

Automakers from Tesla to GM and Volvo have set their eyes on introducing autonomous cars, although regulatory and technological worries continue to be. read additional

Tech companies these kinds of as Alphabet’s Waymo and Cruise also are creating self-driving taxis or trucks for industrial use these kinds of as trip-hailing and delivery companies.

Vehicle autonomy “is definitely going mainstream with Mercedes,” Luminar CEO Austin Russell advised Reuters, without the need of disclosing a timeframe for putting the engineering in Mercedes’ motor vehicles.

He said the two would acquire “legitimate” autonomy capabilities, together with enhanced basic safety abilities this kind of as automatic braking.

Common Motors Co (GM.N) is functioning with its greater part-owned Cruise self-driving unit to introduce a personal autonomous car or truck by as early as mid-10 years, Chief Government Mary Barra stated this month.

“If you want to be capable to get to definitely autonomous capabilities in a customer vehicle, and you have to industrialize components, application, all of these units that arrive into play. That by the way, is fully diverse than the function that the robo-taxi organizations have been functioning on,” Russell said.

He mentioned it is a obstacle to mass generate lidars and make guaranteed they are robust ample to fulfill stringent prerequisites from automakers.

“It is a fully distinctive type of company of likely from a science and know-how company to automotive company.”

Lidars, which use laser light-weight pulses to evaluate the length between the sensor and the focus on item, are commonly seen as critical to obtaining complete autonomous driving. But Tesla has shunned the sensor, stating it is high-priced and unneeded.

Volvo Autos (VOLCARb.ST) and…