An offshoot of the AI race revolves around self-driving cars.
And in that realm, despite Tesla's gains with its Full-Self Driving (FSD) technology, Mercedes just beat out the competition.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles approved Mercedes-Benz to sell or lease self-driving cars to the public June 8.
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Similar to Tesla's Autopilot, Mercedes' Drive Pilot allows for hands-free driving. But it goes a bit beyond simply hands-free, allowing the driver to turn away from the road in something that is essentially eyes-free.
Drivers do, however, have to be prepared to take control if necessary, so no naps. If the car's internal cameras can't see the driver's face, the system will disengage.
Drive Pilot, according to Mercedes, will only be enabled at speeds below 40 mph on "suitable freeway sections" during daylight hours.
Mercedes is the first carmaker to be approved to sell or lease self-driving cars in California.
"This permit excludes operation on city or county streets, in construction zones, during heavy rain or heavy fog, on flooded roads and during weather conditions that are determined to impact performance of Drive Pilot," the DMV said. "Vehicle owners must watch a mandatory video explaining the capabilities of the system and how to engage and disengage the technology before Mercedes-Benz will activate Drive Pilot in the vehicle."
In January, Mercedes became the first automaker to bring so-called Level 3 -- hands-free and eyes-free -- self-driving tech to the U.S. when it gained approval in Nevada.
The conditional system allows users to disengage their attention from the road, again, at "suitable freeway sections where there is high traffic density."
Drive Pilot, in addition to cameras and road-wetness sensors, uses something called LiDAR -- light detection and ranging -- to operate the vehicle safely. The tech essentially uses laser pulses to create 3D imaging of its surroundings, which, when combined with other sensors, allows for safe navigation.
Mercedes said in March of 2022 that it will accept full liability for any accidents caused by one of its vehicles when Drive Pilot is active.
A report last year found around 400 accidents of vehicles with semi-automated self-driving technology had occurred over the course of 11 months.
"In the modern world, time is one of the most precious commodities, and giving back time to our customers is a core element in our strategy to build the world's most desirable cars," Mercedes CTO, Markus Schafer, said in January. "Our Drive Pilot takes a major step forward in achieving that, and places us at the very forefront of innovation in the crucially important field of automated driving."
