[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ercedes-Benz is the pioneer when it comes to digitalization in the automotive industry. Under the motto “It’s all about me“, visitors at Mercedes exhibition stand immersed themselves in the individual world of Mercedes me and discover just how Mercedes-Benz combines the requirements of modern mobility with digital life – from connected vehicles with digital lifestyle offerings, to the intelligent car of the future.
Exclusively, in advance of the world premiere in Detroit, CES visitors also experienced the innovative cockpit of the upcoming new E-Class which is set to herald an all new era in digitalization – with high-resolution visualizations and animations, touch-sensitive control and also smartphone integration with capacitive aerial coupling and wireless charging. An insight into the future of the User Interface and User Experience Design, meanwhile, comes courtesy of the “Concept Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile” show car.
“The future belongs to the digital car in which people are the point of focus,” said Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the board of Daimler AG and responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. “Unlike any other automotive manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz is making successful inroads into the intelligent networking of the car and the individual living environment of the driver. As part of this, Mercedes me is the interactive interface between people, vehicle and the Mercedes-Benz brand. At the CES we are enabling visitors to experience all of this under the motto ‘It’s all about me’.”
For this reason, Mercedes-Benz designed this year’s CES exhibition stand as a temporary Mercedes me pop-up store. As a result, visitors were able to discover and experience diverse world of Mercedes me.
With this CES premier of Mercedes me, Mercedes-Benz presented digital access to the personalized world of Mercedes-Benz for the US market. During the course of the year, in Europe and soon in Asia, the brand with the star is set to be accessible and active on the net at any time for customers and other interested parties. Visitors will also be able to get an impression at the CES: the range of services offered via the internet portal, extend from electronic appointment arrangement for the classic service, via individual networking with the customer’s own vehicle and right through to the provision of tailor-made financial services.
In addition, customers and interested parties will find a host of products and services which go far beyond being relevant for just their own vehicle. The entire offering is not just digital, however, but can also be experienced in the real world – in the actual Mercedes me stores. Five stores have already been opened since 2014, which have developed into hotspots for lifestyle and culture.
In the new Mercedes-AMG GT S und Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupé, show visitors also learnt all about the wide range of Mercedes me connect services, from Standard Services such as the automatic emergency call system through to the Remote Online Services. Via an app, information on the vehicle status can be accessed, the auxiliary heater programmed or the doors remotely opened and locked. One highlight of the Mercedes me App is convenient Door-to-Door Navigation.
Another key point of interest is the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which will celebrate its world premiere at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit. With this intelligent business sedan, Mercedes-Benz is heralding a new era in networking and digitalization. Alongside the familiar controls such as the user interaction elements such as the controller, touchpad, switches and LINGUATRONIC voice control, the new E-Class is the world’s first vehicle to feature touch control on a multifunction steering wheel. The two panels are touch sensitive like the surface of a smartphone and by using horizontal and vertical swiping movements it is possible to scroll through the menus of the instrument cluster and the central display. The selected function is activated by pressing down. In this way the entire infotainment system can be controlled in a logical, intuitive and ergonomically ideal way within the smallest amount of space – without the driver taking their hands off the steering wheel. Mercedes-Benz is the first automaker to offer such a system within a car.
“Given the growing degree of networking of vehicles, the control and visualization of all functions are becoming increasingly important. Whether we are talking multimedia, assistance systems or autonomous driving – it is becoming more and more about how drivers and other vehicle occupants experience networking both in and outside of the vehicle. This includes not only the functionality but also the display design,” explains Daimler board member Prof. Dr. Thomas Weber.
In the upcoming new E-Class, Mercedes-Benz is introducing the first fully digital instrument cluster with a resolution of 1920 x 720 pixels. It opens up previously unknown possibilities for presenting information to the driver. For the first time high-resolution visualizations and animations are possible which provide a completely new experience. Thanks to the animated presentation of information, the functionality of the assistance systems and the DYNAMIC SELECT transmission modes, for example, can be understood more intuitively by the driver and therefore experienced even better. The screen design of the instrument cluster can be selected individually from among three different styles: “Classic”, “Sport” and “Progressive”.
A further highlight on the Mercedes-Benz CES stand was the show car – the “Concept Intelligent Aerodynamic Automobile.” Presented to the public for the first time at the IAA International Motor Show 2015 in Frankfurt, it provides a glimpse of the further development of the User Interface and User Experience Design. For the first time in the industry, this vehicle study brings graphics and animations on a par with the quality of Hollywood films into the car.
Machine Learning at Mercedes-Benz
A new generation of Mercedes-Benz Companion App for iPhone and Apple Watch was launched at CES for the US Market. In addition to its Door-to-Door Navigation, this new App uses Machine Learning to provide a personalized User Experience by learning from customers’ actions and their environment.
Inspiration talks
Interested visitors to the Mercedes-Benz stand were also opportune to enter into dialogue with the specialists. Mercedes experts in the areas of Mercedes me, the digital vehicle, contextual intelligence and also autonomous driving plus augmented and/or virtual reality provided a look behind the scenes in series of presentations.
