Mercedes-Benz is now giving people the chance to experience what it's like inside its self-driving electric car.
The autonomous technology of the vehicle, dubbed the F 105, will allow people inside the car to talk to each other face-to-face or complete projects, according to The Next Digit. The vehicle is designed to allow three types of interaction: between people and the car, between people inside the car, and between people and the outside world.
Experts believe that autonomous technology will allow people to talk and do work and different activities while the car is in motion, which will make driving unnecessary in the future.
"It is going to be the third place where people can spend some time after office and home," Mercedes Advanced Design team member Holger Hutzenlaub said.
The move follows four months after the German automaker introduced the vehicle, which is designed specifically to use in smart cities in 2030.
The 24-inch wheels of the F 015 are designed to be pushed out to the far corners so that there would be maximum space for passengers inside, SlashGear reported. The design team also decided to make the roofline a more complicated curve.
"We didn't want to make a car that was symmetrical," Hutzenlaub said, describing the car as "a pod that pushes the volume forward."
Features of the F 015 include LEDs for providing signs and messages to pedestrians like engine cooling, and a 360-degree sensor that can detect pedestrians, hazards and other vehicles, The Next Digit reported. Mercedes also gave the car the ability to valet itself in street areas and multi-story parking lots. Alexander Mankowsky, Mercedes' future studies expert, says the car is designed to provide passengers a less stressful experience while being stuck in traffic.
Mercedes has many automakers to contend with in the race to build self-driving cars, include Tesla Motors, whose CEO, Elon Musk, says today's autonomous vehicles aren't safe to drive in urban and residential areas. In the meantime, people can go on test drives with the F 015 to see what it will be like to go on a ride in the vehicle before it eventually becomes available to drivers.
