Mercedes is making available a free software update to C- and S-Class customers to enable a ‘more personal customer experience’. It says artificial intelligence places applications at the top menu level situationally and contextually for an enhanced experience.
With intelligent software, Mercedes claims the display and operation concept of the MBUX infotainment system adapts completely to its user. Owners of a Mercedes‑Benz C‑Class (series 206; construction period March to June 2021) and S‑Class (series 223 including Maybach; construction period June to November 2021) can now use the over-the-air update (OTA) to install the ‘Zero Layer’ As soon as the update is ready for installation, the customer will be notified via the MBUX infotainment system and via the Mercedes me app.
Mercedes says the clear user interface with large map view and individual selection tiles can be intuitively operated, without having to scroll through sub-menus. The system ‘gets to know the driver and remembers the typical settings or routes’. At the appropriate moment, it suggests personalised infotainment, comfort and vehicle functions – precisely tailored to the respective driving situation, it claims.
An example from Mercedes: a driver calls his family on the way home from work every evening. The vehicle learns this habit and, in the future, will suggest the telephone call at this time directly in a selection tile on the top menu. The driver can, of course, reject this suggestion if necessary with the “Do not suggest now” function, or permanently delete it with “Do not suggest again”. The vehicle also remembers these wishes.
Magnus Östberg, Chief Software Officer, Mercedes‑Benz AG said: “We have been offering over-the-air updates since 2013. We give our customers the opportunity to upgrade their vehicles with the latest software over the entire term, whenever and wherever they want.
“We continuously optimise the performance of the systems and develop valuable new features for the customer that make driving a Mercedes‑Benz even more pleasant. The update to the Zero Layer offers a 100% personalised and intuitive user experience, with all relevant functions always in view. The modern look helps to keep the vehicle up-to-date and – as is typical of Mercedes – retains value.”
Mercedes says that next to radio/media and telephony, navigation is the most important functionality for users and is therefore always at the centre of the screen unit after this update. More than 20 additional functions are automatically offered with the help of artificial intelligence if they are relevant for the customer: from ENERGIZING COMFORT programmes such as a relaxing massage on long-distance journeys to status queries from connected smart home devices to suggestions for when a phone call is due. The developers have internally named these suggestion modules, which are displayed on the Zero Layer interface, as “Magic Modules”. The Zero Layer made its debut in 2021 in the all-electric EQS and EQE models. It is also now standard on board the C‑Class (series 206) and S‑Class (series 223 including Maybach) models produced in model year 21/2, as it is on other future series models.
The freely selectable and free over-the-air update works very simply: Customers with an active Mercedes me account will receive a notification via the MBUX Infotainment system and via app that this update is available. Download and installation take place in the background after customers have agreed in advance to the installation of software updates. Customers without a Mercedes me account will be informed by post about the availability of the update. To transmit the data, Mercedes‑Benz relies on mobile radio technology and the communication module installed in the vehicle.
