Volvo unveils self-driving concept car, promises fleet by 2017
Volvo's new Concept 26, named to reflect the average daily commute to work of 26 minutes, incorporates a new bucket-style seat design that actively cradles the driver during the transformation phase into one of the three modes: Drive, Create or Relax.
Unlike Volvo, Google, which unveiled its self-driving car in 2014, said its vehicle will have no steering wheel. Google has said its autonomous two-door compact car is currently being tested on California roads and is expected to go into production by 2020.
Tesla has also promised a self-driving car, but its timeline is more ambitious: 2017.
According to Tesla, more than 1 million cars have already installed a recently released over-the-air software upgrade to the Model S sedan's Autopilot feature, which includes a beta version of Autosteer and Auto Lane Change. Both upgrades, however, are driver assist features and a driver's hands should remain on the steering wheel, the company has said.
With Volvo's Concept 26, when a driver wants the car to take over, the steering wheel retracts, the seat reclines and a large display emerges from the dashboard -- allowing the driver ignore the road and perform other tasks.
Volvo also took on a controversy that has been swirling around the self-driving car industry: Who will be responsible when an autonomous vehicle causes an accident
"Volvo Cars is among the first to address the subject of self-driving cars and liability. We firmly believe that car makers should take full responsibility for the actions of the car when it is driving in full autonomous mode," Peter Mertens, senior vice president of R&D at Volvo AB.
"If a manufacturer does not accept liability, it clearly implies that they are not confident about their autonomous drive technology," he added.