LG And Mercedes-Benz Team Up To Develop A System To Power Self-Driving Cars

LG is partnering up with Mercedes-Benz to make the future of driving smarter and less about the drivers themselves.

The Korean company announced that the duo are jointly working on “next-generation camera systems” which they said will allow computers and algorithms to handle “some aspects” of the driving experience. LG told The Verge that it will provide the “core components” of self-driving cars from Mercedes-Benz in the future.

That joint system will be based on LG’s existing ‘ADAS’ (Advanced Drive Assistance System) products — which include cameras that produce alerts when a vehicle changes lane, read road signs, check the driver’s health status and issue proximity-based warnings for obstacles — by licensing Mercedes-Benz’s fascinating 6D Vision technology to advance LG’s tech.

We could be looking at a range of things, from cars that automatically slow based on what is ahead of them — per the video below — right up to fully self-driving vehicles.

LG also confirmed that it will begin to use its own home entertainment and mobile technology within automobile, so that might seen increased integration with its mobile devices and new options for in-car entertainment.

The integration between smartphones, our in-the-pocket-computers, and automotive is increasingly irresistible.

Google has been working with auto-makers since early this year via its Open Automotive Alliance, and it opened APIs for its Android Auto project last month. Beyond that, the company is being tipped to build its next version of Android into cars directly.

Apple has CarPlay, which integrates the on-dashboard system with iOS devices for music, maps, calling and more.

CarPlay is built into newer vehicles from the likes of Audio, Ford and Honda, but it is also supported by in-car entertainment systems — like the Pioneer AppRadio 4 which we took for a spin recently.

Away from mere integrations, plenty of companies are working on fully autonomous driving solutions for the future. Google is perhaps the most notable, and it released a first prototype of its self-driving car earlier this week.

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