New Mercedes Actros will launch with semi-autonomous Active Drive Assist

Mercedes-Benz has revealed the new Actros ahead if its official debut at the IAA Commercial Vehicles Show in Hannover.

It features a new partially autonomous driving technology: Active Drive Assist, which can brake, accelerate and steer independently, at all speed ranges.

Mercedes-Benz says the new development increases safety for all road users, efficiency for operators and comfort for drivers to unprecedented levels.

New elements are the active latitudinal control and the combination of longitudinal and lateral control in all speed ranges through the fusion of radar and camera information.

Active Drive Assist builds upon the tried-and-tested adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go function and the lane-keeping assistant from Mercedes-Benz. While responsibility for monitoring the traffic situation remains with the driver, the system provides significant support and makes an important contribution to increased road safety.

“With more than 60 innovations, the new Actros already puts the future of heavy-duty trucks on the road today. Just four years after the presentation of the Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025 driving in automated mode, we are launching the new Actros with the world’s first partially automated assistance system in a series-produced truck,” stated Stefan Buchner, member of the Daimler Trucks Divisional Board of Management and head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks. “We at Daimler Trucks are thus further extending our leading role for automated driving. When fitted with Active Drive Assist, our new Actros makes the logistics business significantly safer for all road users and more efficient for our customers.”

The new Actros also features Active Brake Assist of the fifth generation. It supports the driver when there is a danger of a rear-end collision or a collision with person crossing, oncoming or walking in the truck’s lane – also with an automatic full application of the brakes if necessary. A new aspect is that Active Brake Assist 5 now works with a combination of radar and a camera system. This allows it to monitor the space ahead of the vehicle even better and to react to persons in the road even better.

Another innovation is the use of cameras in place of mirrors. The mirror-cam offers greatly improved all-round visibility and consists of two cameras mounted on the outside of the vehicle and two 15-inch displays on the A-pillars inside the driver's cab.

The dashboard contains two interactive screens that serve as a central source of information for the driver. In addition to all driver-relevant basic information, the assistance systems are also visualized here. Smartphones can be integrated via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Truck Data Centre permanently connects the truck with the Cloud and is the basis for all connectivity solutions, such as apps that help the driver to perform his transport tasks. This means that connectivity becomes reality in the new Actros. Real-time control of the truck through the connected services provided by Fleetboard and the preventive service product Mercedes-Benz Uptime offer truck operators further added value. That includes predictive maintenance and shorter stand times. Furthermore, the new remote-control key as standard equipment gives the driver additional operating convenience.

Fuel consumption of the new Actros is once again lower than that of its predecessor with savings of up to 3% on highways and up to 5% on country roads. The Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC) for cruise-control and gear shifting operates even more efficiently and can now also be used on country roads thanks to its expanded map material. In addition, a new, fuel-saving rear-axle ratio is in use.

Order books for the new Actros open at the trucks public debut at the IAA 2018 Commercial Vehicles Show and the first vehicles will be delivered to customers next spring.