Mercedes is bringing the first legal Level 3 automated driving system to Nevada.

Despite the names and capabilities of advanced driver assistance systems offered by many automakers, no system in a production vehicle offers Level 3 self-driving capabilities, according to SAE regulations. Mercedes-Benz announced Thursday that its 2024 S-Class and EQS sedans will be equipped with DrivePilot, a Level 3 system that will be legal to drive in Nevada later this year.

According to the SAE definition, to qualify as a Level 3 system, a system must be "capable of operating a vehicle under limited conditions and will not operate unless all conditions are met." The definition also states that even if the driver is in the driver's seat, "the driver is not driving the vehicle when these automated features are activated." However, the driver must be ready to take over control when the conditions for the system to operate are not met or when the system requests it.

According to Mercedes, DrivePilot meets Nevada's Chapter 482A requirements for autonomous vehicles, and the company hopes to make the system available in California later this year. On the other hand, Tesla's fully automated driving capabilities, which do not fall under Level 3, could soon be illegal in California.

Drive Pilot operates at speeds up to 40 mph on busy freeways. Drive Pilot can control speed, distance from the vehicle ahead, and maintain lane control. It also automatically reacts to traffic signs and other traffic phenomena along the route, according to Mercedes.

The system is activated by buttons on the steering wheel, and these buttons indicate when the system is available. If the driver is not in control when the system requests it, the system will stop the vehicle in its lane, turn on the hazard lights, unlock the doors, and activate the emergency alert system.

In addition to the sensors already built into vehicles equipped with the Driving Assistance Package, Drive Pilot includes lidar sensors, a camera in the rear window, a microphone to detect emergency vehicles, road surface wetting sensors on the wheel wells, redundant steering and brake actuators, and redundant on-board electrical systems will be added. The system also uses a global positioning system that is accurate to centimeters, rather than meters as in other mapping systems. The high-definition digital map provides 3D images of road geometry, surrounding environment, route characteristics, traffic signs, and traffic events. This map is provided through a back-end connection and is constantly updated by data from other DrivePilot vehicles.

According to Mercedes, the drive pilot gives back time to the driver. When the system is enabled, it can activate applications on the center touchscreen that are normally blocked while driving.

This is the first application of the Level 3 system in the U.S., but it has been available in Germany since last May. Mercedes has not offered a price for Drive Pilot.