Touring the Mercedes-Benz Sunnyvale R&D center (pictures)

Behold the giant, rotating three-point star outside of the new Mercedes-Benz R&D center in Sunnyvale, Calif., now bigger and more-high tech than before. CNET was lucky enough to be let inside for a tour of the place to see some of the work that comes out of the studio, and now you can follow along.

The gathered crowd for the grand opening.

A collaborative workspace at the MBRDNA.

One of the 114 Nest thermostats to be found at the Mercedes R&D facility.

Dashboard debugging and testing tools.

Adjustable desks for all.

Offices and meeting rooms, with plenty of glass.

Speakers at the grand opening.

A whiteboard where developers are checking off features for next-generation releases.

One of the 3D printers at MBRDNA.

The prototype S-Class cockpit.

A concept future dashboard with gesture recognition, as previously seen at CES.

One of the meeting rooms at the MBRDNA.

Various car radios from various regions.

Pebble smartwatches running the Mercedes-Benz app.

Another look at the Pebbles running the Mercedes-Benz app.

A Pebble running the Mercedes-Benz app.

Some of the various in-car apps.

A navigation system shows a warning because the car ahead has its hood open.

More testing and debugging tools.

More testing and debugging tools.

Inside a meeting room.

Art showing appreciation for the states of driving.

Classic CL -- in model form.