I’ve always had great respect for Mercedes’s concern for the safety of the people that drive their cars and I love the way they’re always pushing themselves to be better at it. I’ve had the chance to see for myself how some of the new security features on the E-Class model work, but first, let’s take a peek inside the Mercedes Palo Alto labs, courtesy of BoingBoingnet guys.

They went to Palo Alto (which for me is the Mecca of technology and behavioral science) and talked to Johann Jungwith, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz’ U.S. research department. According to them, he is the overseer of the development of new technologies that Mercedes want to add to their cars to improve the way we drive and our personal security while we do it.
In essence, it’s more than just audio systems and a nice dashboard. Mercedes is working with Apple and it’s developing telematics based systems. If you haven’t heard about telematics yet, it’s okay. It consists of the integrated use of telecommunications and informatics and it certainly is top level technology.

Here are some of the most important features that you can find on the future Mercedes E-Class model:
- pairing your phone with your car
- a center console controlled by an iPod
- safety systems that scan the space around you
- the option of always having a 4G cellular connection through next-gen LTE networks
- HD video streaming
- Google Streetview
- acces to appstore
- a brake system that will make the car brake automatically in case you miss a red light called the Smart Stop tech
- the autonomous braking system that can spot a rear-end collission and bring the car to a halt
- a radar that alerts you whenever there’s someone or something in your blind spot by flashing red and amber signals on your wing mirrors
- a rear parking camera that will make parking look like great fun.

I’ve already seen how the autonomous braking system at work and also the blind spot radar and I must say they are amazing! The E-Class feel like a living organism that takes care of its driver and passengers. Unfortunately, some of the other features will have to wait, because governments need to be persuaded and infrastructure must be put in place (like the red light braking system). Moreover, the bar needs to be set at an industry level, but I’m sure that sometime soon Mercedes’s technology will start saving lives.
You can find out more about this in the full article on BoingBoing.net or on the official Mercedes website.