Mercedes-Benz announces self-driving car company
The Mercedes-Benz logo is pictured at the Frankfurt Motor Show IAA 2019 in Frankfurt, Germany, September 10, 2019. REUTERS Ralph Orlowski File Photo
Luminar shares went up 18% at $15.89 on Thursday. Luminar said that Mercedes-Benz will have 1.5 million shares in Luminar, which will vest over time when certain milestones are met.
According to Austin Russell, Luminar CEO, there isn't a timeframe for putting the technology in Mercedes' vehicles.
He said the two would develop true autonomy capabilities to keep drivers out of the loop, while improving safety capabilities such as automatic braking.
Automakers from Tesla to General Motors Co GM.N and Volvo VOLCARb. ST are focusing on introducing autonomous vehicles for consumers, although regulatory and technological challenges remain. Tech firms such as Alphabet's GOOGL.O Waymo and Cruise are developing self-driving taxis or trucks for commercial use, such as ride-hailing and delivery services.
General Motors is working with the majority-owned Cruise self-driving unit to introduce a personal autonomous vehicle by mid-decade, Chief Executive Mary Barra said this month.
If you want to be able to get to truly autonomous capabilities in a consumer vehicle, you have to industrialize hardware, software, all of these systems that come into play. Russell said that's completely different from the work that the robo-taxi companies have been working on.
He said it is a challenge to mass produce lidars and make sure they are robust enough to meet stringent requirements from automakers.
It is a completely different kind of business from a science and technology business to an automotive corporation. Lidars, which use laser light pulses to measure the distance between the sensor and the target object, are widely seen as essential to full autonomous driving. Tesla has shunned the sensor, saying it is expensive and unnecessary.
Volvo Cars and Luminar said earlier this month that they will put a hands-free driving system in an electric sport utility vehicle.