Mercedes-Benz introduces proprietary operating system MB.OS

Mercedes-Benz has chosen Sunnyvale, California – where its corporate R&D campus is located – to showcase its proprietary MB.OS operating system, a new purpose-built chip-to-cloud architecture that will be the core element of every future model of the Three Pointed Star.
MB.OS will be introduced in the middle of the decade with the new MMA (Mercedes Modular Architecture) platform but will already have some applications in the upcoming new E-Class.
Software features will be offered that the CEO of the Ola Källenius Group himself defined, during his presentation also broadcast in streaming video, as “exceptional” and which “will amaze customers with its ease of use”. And the Group will have the opportunity to see the net revenue generated by connected services grow from 1 billion euros in 2022 to 8 billion between 2025 and 2030.
The MB.OS program includes partnerships with innovation leaders to offer, for example, integrated access to Google maps and features, to have Tik Tok in infotainment but also to Webex and Zoom video conferencing or ‘access to Zync movie platform. Through further collaborations with leading technology hardware and software players, Mercedes aims to ensure efficient development and rapid scalability as we move from the levels of the current infotainment experience to one far superior to smartphone mirroring.
The integration of best-in-class content (specific to regions, with a particular focus on China) spanning music, video, games and productivity – according to Mercedes – will in fact rise to high levels thanks to the system’s full-width screen on-board Mbux, immersive sound and further developments in voice control.
“At Mercedes-Benz, we are dedicated to building the most desirable cars in the world. – said Källenius – and as a result, we have made the decision to be the architects of our own operating system, a unique chip-to-cloud architecture that leverages your full access to the hardware and software components of our vehicles”.
“By combining this in-house expertise with a selection of world-class partners, we will create an exceptional customer experience, from driver assistance, navigation and entertainment, to integrated charging. MB.OS will feature full upgradeability and constant improvements”.
Advancement of automated driving with improved SAE Level 2 functionality in urban environments and Level 3 up to 130 km/h will also be possible thanks to MB.OS. Everything will be driven by partner Nvidia’s Drive platform and machine learning. Fully connected vehicles will be able to share data and improve rapidly over time via OTA updates.
The ‘driving brain’ of the vehicle will be Nvidia’s Drive Orin system-on-chip, capable of executing 254 trillion operations per second to process data from a suite of sensors surrounding the vehicle.
The ‘eyes’ of the system (the perception systems) together with radar sensors and cameras are the LiDars of the Mercedes-Benz partner Luminar. In particular, Luminar’s new generation IRIS sensor is able to recognize even small objects with low reflectivity in the infrared spectrum. n China, Mercedes-Benz is also engaging in a local cloud partnership with Tencent to support its automated driving systems.
As Britta Seeger, member of the Mercedes-Benz board with responsibility for marketing and sales, pointed out, more personalized and convenient services will be offered, thanks to the Mercedes_me identity that connects all information relating to the customer.
It ranges from payments for fuel and electricity refills to the purchase of goods and services, from workshop appointments to financing coupons and repairs. To streamline the customer experience, personalized services and upgrades we will use the three convenient packages MB.Connect, MB.Charge and MB.Drive.