Daimler with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology · research vehicle
Mercedes-Benz S 500 Intelligent Drive
Bertha Benz drive
A research S-Class that used near-production stereo cameras and radars to drive itself on ordinary roads.
- Price
- —research vehicle, not sold
- Autonomy
- SupervisedHow it runs
- Driverless
- Not yetSafety driver on board
- Fleet
- —Not published
- Speed
- —Not published
- Range
- —Not published
Why it matters
In August 2013 it drove about 100 km from Mannheim to Pforzheim, retracing Bertha Benz's 1888 route through towns and villages.
Real-world use
No customers or deployments reported yet.
Maker
Daimler with Karlsruhe Institute of TechnologyCompanyHow it drives
Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.
- Driverless status
- Safety driver on board
- Where it runs
- Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany (2013)
Public attention
A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current vehicles.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- No recent press stories listed yet
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
No component details published yet.
- Movement
- Wheeled base
- How it runs
- Supervised. Works by itself while a person watches and steps in.
From the maker
Mercedes-Benz S 500 Intelligent Drive (Bertha Benz drive) is the only vehicle from Daimler with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in the atlas.
Made, sold and where
No production or sales figures published yet.
- Price
- Not publishedresearch vehicle, not sold
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
Side by side with its peers
Picked by the same rules for every robot: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. How we choose
| Measure | Mercedes-Benz S 500 Intelligent Drive (Bertha Benz drive)Daimler with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology |  DEEVAVisLab (University of Parma)Same job: research · Both on wheels · Both past robots | No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useDelphi automated driving car (coast-to-coast)Delphi AutomotiveSame job: research · Both on wheels · Both past robots |  VIAC vans (VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge)VisLab (University of Parma)Same job: research · Both on wheels · Both past robots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2013-08 | 2014-03-31 | 2015-04 | 2010-07-20 |
| Status | Retired | Retired | Retired | Retired |
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| Joints | — | — | — | — |
| Speed | — | — | — | — |
| Payload | — | — | — | — |
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| Price | — | — | — | — |
Sources
Figures come from a published paper. Every link below backs something on this page.
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