SELF-DRIVING cars became one of the highlights of the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held in Las Vegas in the United States. Automakers Audi and Mercedes took to the stage to talk about their cars that are able to manage their own traffic patterns. Let’s take a closer look at what these automakers have to offer in the future.
The car has four passenger seats that can be rotated, enabling passengers to face each other and engage in conversation
Mercedes-Benz: Luxury in Motion
Mercedes introduced the F015 Luxury in Motion plug-in hybrid during the 2015 CES. The car runs on a lithium-ion battery and a hydrogen fuel cell and makes use of three-dimensional cameras along with sensors to drive the car without human assistance. Six display screens are integrated into the rear and side panels as well as the instrument panel to keep passengers connected not only to the car but to the outside world as well. Passengers can interact with the display screens through touch, eye tracking, or gestures.
The car has four passenger seats that can be rotated, enabling passengers to face each other and engage in conversation as the car is in motion. The seats can also be rotated to face the doors to allow for an easy exit when the car has reached its destination. It also features light modules that change in colour. The lights are white if the driver is in control of the vehicle and blue if the car is driving itself.
Mercedes’ self-driving luxury sedan is not meant for production, however, but it definitely shows that the automaker has the technology needed to create a fully autonomous vehicle that can ply the world’s roads safely and efficiently.
