Mercedes-Benz, Bosch Launch Robocar Ride-Hailing Pilot In San Jose

A select group of people now have the opportunity to hail, and grab a ride in a self-driving Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicle. It’s part of a just-launched pilot program in San Jose, Calif., by Mercedes-Benz AG and auto supplier Robert Bosch GmbH. 

Participants in the program hail a ride using an app developed by Daimler Mobility AG, Daimler AG’s financial and mobility services provider. With a safety driver on board to monitor the robotaxi’s performance, riders will travel from a defined pickup point to their destinations located along certain designated streets between West San Jose and downtown. 

The San Jose pilot program represents the next step for the two companies which have been working together for more than two years on solving issues related to operating autonomous vehicles safely on crowded city streets. Their goal is developing production ready SAE Level 4 and 5 automated vehicle systems which require little to no participation by a driver.

“If automated driving is to become everyday reality, the technology has to work reliably and safely. And this is where we need tests such as our pilot project in San Jose,” said Dr. Michael Fausten, head of engineering for urban automated driving at Bosch, in a statement.

While Mercedes-Benz provides the vehicles, Bosch develops and manufactures components for urban automated driving. 

Safe operation of self-driving vehicles is especially daunting in an urban setting where streets can be congested and conditions can change suddenly as other vehicles quickly dart, turn and stop. To address those conditions Bosch and Mercedes-Benz engineers have reproduced what the companies describe as “complex traffic situations” at a one-million square foot proving ground at a testing and technology center in Immendingen, Germany. 

Aside from simply testing the performance of the robotaxis, the companies are hoping to learn more about how self-driving vehicles can be integrated into an urban mobility system that includes public transportation and car-sharing services.

“It’s not just the automated vehicles that have to prove their mettle. We also need proof that they can fit in as a piece of the urban mobility puzzle. We can test both these things in San Jose,” said Dr. Uwe Keller, head of autonomous driving at Mercedes-Benz, in a statement.

With that in mind, Daimler Mobility is developing and testing a fleet platform to accompany the pilot operation phase. The company said it allows potential ride-hailing partners to integrate self-driving Mercedes-Benz vehicles into their service portfolio. The platform manages both self-driving and conventional vehicles, including their operation and maintenance. 

The Mercedes-Benz/Bosch pilot program comes barely a month after South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company launched a robotaxi test in Irvine, Calif. In that program, test riders can hail a so-called BotRide, an autonomous version a Hyundai KONA electric SUV. 

Hyundai partnered with Pony.ai, an autonomous vehicle sensor hardware and software company, and Via, which worked on a special mobile app for the pilot program.

Waymo, Google parent company Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous vehicle unit, launched a robotaxi service in Chandler, Ariz., just outside Phoenix, in 2018 and is now addressing the rigors of urban driving by dispatching automated minivans in areas of car-clogged Los Angeles to create 3D maps in advance of offering robotaxi service in that city.