The Mercedes-Benz F015 Luxury in Motion (Photo : REUTERS/Steve Marcus )
Mercedes-Benz has rolled out its prototype of self-driving car, F 015 Luxury in Motion, to make the future of autonomous-driving worry-free.
The car is a luxurious cocoon built to relax, talk, listen music and everything else that can be done in a car that is 17 feet long, 6.5 feet wide and 5 feet high.
The only thing that does not need to be done is, well, driving.
However, unlike Google's driverless prototype, the Mercedes F 015 has a steering. In case you desire to drive, just grab the wheel.
The other difference with Google's autonomous car is that the Mercedes Luxury in Motion has four seats, unlike Google's 'front-facing' two. That means Mercedes is planning a family car.
Mercedes F 015 model also doesn't have the large bin in front of the occupants which is present in Google's self-driving car. Google's idea is probably to make hopping in and out easy.
Contrasting Google's idea, Mercedes wants to build a posh cocoon where people can find solace to rest and relax, finding it interesting enough to slip into, after the office and home.
"It will become the third place you will spend time, after your office and your home," says Holger Hutzenlaub, a member of the company's Advanced Design team.
In terms of pricing too, the Mercedes driverless car would not be a low-frills robotic taxi like the Google's autonomous car.
The prototype suggests that Mercedes is planning a pricey and luxurious personal car meant for the affluent buyers. And, perhaps, it is not built to represent a truly self-driving prototype as well.
Notably, Mercedes has expressed the desire to showcase autonomous driving through the S500 Intelligent Drive model. That was Mercedes' true model to represent self-driving tech.
This, the F 015, is actually a model to demonstrate the kind of luxury cars we all might be driving in by perhaps 2030, according to The USA Today.
Elon Musk had really attracted some ire by suggesting that humans will be banned from driving one day. According to Musk, the autonomous car is a "solved problem".
