Mercedes-Benz considers empathy and trust to be central factors for the acceptance of self-driving vehicles. For people to have trust in the machine, they must immediately and intuitively be able to recognise what an autonomous vehicle intends to do. Mercedes-Benz is conducting research into this “informed trust” with the help of the “cooperative car”. The cooperative car is based on an S-Class, and features 360-degree light signaling. Turquoise lights on the roof indicate autonomous driving mode, and provide information on what happens next. Continuous light shows that the vehicle is in autonomous driving mode, whether moving or stationary. Slow flashing means that the vehicle is braking. Rapid flashing announces that the vehicle will shortly be moving off. Alternative light display concepts are also being tested with this vehicle: turquoise light strips in the windscreen, the radiator grille, the headlamps, the exterior mirrors and the lower area of the windows […]