Daimler
Daimler and Bosch to test self-driving taxis in San Jose. Credit: © Daimler AG.

Daimler and Bosch have partnered to trial a driverless on-demand ride-hailing taxi service in San Jose, California, US.

Scheduled to start in the second half of 2019, the companies will deploy their automated Mercedes-Benz S-Class vehicles to provide the service to a selected user community in the San Carlos / Stevens Creek corridor between downtown and west San Jose.

Daimler drive technologies and automated driving vice-president Dr Michael Hafner said: “Since many years we consequently push autonomous driving. With this pilot we will generate valuable insights to connect fully automated vehicles in the best way with users of future mobility services.”

“With this pilot we will generate valuable insights to connect fully automated vehicles in the best way.”

Bosch automated driving business unit vice-president Dr Stephan Hönle said: “We have to rethink urban transportation. Automated driving will help us complete the picture of future urban traffic.”

Rides will be provided through a Daimler Mobility Services ride-hailing app.

Associates of Daimler and Bosch are collectively developing concepts and algorithms for the fully automated drive system.

Daimler is responsible for integrating the drive system into the car and is offering the required development vehicles, test facilities, and vehicles for the test fleet.

Bosch will provide components such as sensors, actuators, and control units required for the development work.

In 2014, Daimler owned Mercedes-Benz secured an autonomous vehicle testing permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles and has been testing driverless cars in the Sunnyvale region of California.