Mercedes-Benz has come up another great thing- Semi-autonomous Future bus which drove 20 KM in the streets of Amsterdam without any physical assistance. The amazing part is that even passengers were there on the bus during the ride. The route it took was from Schiphol airport in Amsterdam to Haarlem which is a 20 KM distance covering bends, traffic lights and tunnels.
The driver was on board but he wasn't handling the steering, acceleration or the braking part at all. According to Mercedes-Benz, the driver needs to take control only where there is an oncoming traffic and for rest all situations the bus can handle well.
The bus is equipped with the CityPilot feature which is a derivative of the Highway Pilot feature which can be found in Mercedes-Benz Actros truck. The CityPilot helps the bus to recognise traffic lights, communicate with them and accordingly negotiate junctions controlled by them. This feature can also figure obstacles like pedestrians on the road and use brakes autonomously. It automatically opens and closes doors as the bus stop approaches.
This can make the bus drive with a top speed of 70 kmph and also take the bus easily through tunnels. There are nearly dozen cameras to scan the road and surroundings and long and short-range radar systems along with a GPS sytem that monitor the route ahead. The Future Bus is based on Citaro bus by Mercedes-Benz which is already running in many cities globally. The interiors feature a park-like theme, and grab rails have been made like branches moing upwards towards the two-tone ceiling.