Mercedes started work on autonomous vehicles – in 1986
It’s impossible to attend an auto show these days without hearing the phrase “future of mobility.” The vague, blanket term refers to a diverse array of forwardthinking technologies but it’s most often used to describe advancements in the fields of electrification and autonomous driving. Yet, believe it or not, it’s nothing new.
In October of 1986, Mercedes-Benz initiated a research project named Prometheus that explored the future of mobility — the company’s words, not ours — by seeking ways cars can avoid accidents on their own.
Mercedes set up an inhouse research division in the early 1970s. Over the following decade, the unit dabbled in a wide variety of technologies, including trip computers, anti-lock brakes, airbags, and even plug-in hybrid powertrains. Prometheus (an acronym for Program for European Traffic with Highest Efficiency and Unprecedented Safety) looked even further into the future, a mission statement which required the firm to team up with other automakers, universities and suppliers.
“We realized very quickly that there could be just one solution to the growing traffic problems,” explained Prometheus project manager Walter Ziegler. “We had to integrate new technologies — above all, microelectronics, sensor technology, telecommunications, and information processing — in road traffic as comprehensively as possible.”
The press kit distributed in 1986 noted the project’s main goals were to increase traffic safety in spite of the growing number of private cars, harmonize the traffic flow without building new roads, reduce a car’s impact on the environment and enhance comfort. Are you experiencing déjà vu? These are the goals car companies tirelessly cite today.
Mercedes engineers took full advantage of the advancements in electronics. They built a prototype named Vision Information Technology Application (VITA), capable of braking, accelerating, and steering without any input from the driver. The on-board computers relied on automatic image processing technology to analyze the road ahead and apply the brakes if they sensed a collision with another object was imminent.
The system worked relatively well, according to period road testers, but there was a major catch. The hardware took up the Sprintersized van’s entire cargo compartment and it generated so much heat Mercedes had to install two massive A/C units to keep it cool. It did what it was designed to do — somewhat surprisingly — but it was ill-suited for anything resembling volume production.
As engineers fine-tuned the technology, they improved its accuracy and, significantly, developed components small enough to fit in the trunk of a W126-generation S-Class. This represented a major development in making the system viable for production should it receive the green light.
But while the prototypes could drive autonomously, they were unable to pinpoint their exact location, let alone follow directions from one point to another. The Global Positioning System (GPS) at that time was still largely the preserve of the U.S. military, and was uncommon in the hands of civilians or private companies. Storing maps electronically would have required an immense amount of computing power, and no one wanted to return to the days of driving around in a twin-air-conditioned Vario.
Engineers got creative. They made special maps with the help of a publishing company to plot the data gathered by a sensor that detected the earth’s magnetic field. Mercedes envisioned this primitive navigation system as a way for drivers to receive directions in cities.
On the autobahn, the prototypes used wheelmounted sensors to measure the distance covered to tell drivers when they were approaching their exit. Mercedes tested both technologies in and around Stuttgart, its hometown. Both worked but neither proved accurate enough to reach production.
Mercedes shut down Prometheus in 1994, though it continued working on autonomous technology on its own.
Brand officials demonstrated what they learned during the eight-year project by sending an autonomous prototype on a 1,000-kilometre drive across Germany. It travelled on public roads at speeds of up to 130 km/h while changing lanes and passing other cars without requiring the slightest input from the safety driver behind the wheel.
While some analysts predicted autonomous cars were right around the corner, cost, safety, and legal concerns prevented them from breaking into the mainstream. Many of these issues remain unresolved today. That’s why we most likely won’t see a completely autonomous car with Mercedes’ three-pointed star emblem on the hood — or any brand badge, for that matter — before the end of the decade.
Prometheus nonetheless demonstrated the role computers can play in preventing an accident and, in that sense, its legacy lives on. Electronic driving aids trace their roots to the program.