This is a continuation of a series of posts on Mercedes-Benz's global initiative to build a next-generation OS. It’s an expensive, complex venture. Not only must the next-generation Mercedes-Benz OS compete with game-changing aliens such as Tesla, but it must also satisfy increasingly active regulators.
Alphabet Google announced Mercedes as the first major adopter of the Google Places application in vehicles. Licensed ‘native apps’ will be required for functions such as navigation, streaming media, and app stores. The selection of features, forced by competition, must be successfully navigated thru regulatory processes not yet defined in key global geographies.
The announced feature choice for Level 3 ADAS as an early technical objective has been paired with colorful examples of using entertainment or Internet applications while the vehicle performs. While beneficial for Android-based applications and Amazon Prime content, the marketplace viability of these features will be decided by regulators.
Gaming entertainment content in Tesla was changed after regulatory inquiries. A key competitive requirement will be to show behavior for all “corner cases,” and exceptions show in real-world driving conditions by competitors such as Tesla FSD (“Autopilot”), Alphabet Waymo/Waze, and to a lesser extent BYD, Ford, and GM. A list of these exceptions was used to justify a “recall” (forced update) of Tesla vehicles by the USA NTSB. This means all enterprises seeking to become approved by regulators must show they can handle all real-world driving exceptions (and accidents whose cause can be identified by the EUC/NTSB/JASIC/IIHS bureaucracies) and continue to handle these on an ongoing basis compliantly. (Regression by competition.)
You’ll find the earlier articles on MB.OS and other tales of “Alien Invasion” by new competitors such as Tesla and Amazon at www.ekalore.com/alien-invaders
Comments