Mercedes-Benz & Momenta announce autonomous taxi service
For the testing process in Abu Dhabi, local partner Lumo has been tasked with the operation of the future robotaxi fleet. Lumo is a subsidiary of technology company K2, which has received federal approval to begin operating autonomous vehicles in the UAE, with initial deployments starting in Abu Dhabi. The vehicles in question are the new Mercedes S-Class, equipped with a sensor array specifically designed for the project, including LiDAR, radar sensors and cameras.
Mercedes-Benz has also outlined its planned next step: “In the next five years, Mercedes‑Benz targets to offer a version capable of driving at speeds of 130 kph.”
“With a robotaxi S‑Class, we raise the bar for automated mobility — always combining safety and comfort to set new standards for the industry and intelligent transportation worldwide. All our activities in that field underline Mercedes‑Benz’s pioneering role in autonomous driving,” said Joerg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group.
This only marks the start, as Mercedes wrote that it is “exploring further collaborations with industry-leading partners, leveraging its proprietary operating system MB.OS.” As an example, Mercedes cites notes that it is “exploring the future possibilities of an SAE-Level 4 robotaxi ecosystem based on Nvidia’s Drive AV platform.” This would then serve to accelerate autonomous driving development, according to the German manufacturer.
Nvidia also recently announced a partnership with ride-hailing app Uber, carmaker Stellantis, and contract manufacturer Foxconn in the field of robotaxis.
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