Self-driving car

A memorable day. Flew to Gothenburg early this morning to experience something new. I was one of a group of four journalists invited over to Sweden by Volvo. We knew we were going to experience a self-driving car. What we didn't know, until we got there, was that this would not be in tightly controlled conditions on a test track. Instead, we had the weird experience of riding in a car that drove itself on main roads around the city.

For legal reasons, and because the technology is still prototype, someone has to sit behind the wheel and be ready to take over for junctions and other manoeuvres. I took this photo from the front passenger seat, alongside engineer Jonas.

At this moment the car was travelling at 50 mph with no human input on the steering wheel or pedals. Adaptive cruise control and lane guidance kept the car at speed and apart from other traffic. How did it feel? Weird, fascinating and a bit spooky.

In 2017 Volvo plans to put 100 such cars on the road in the Gothenburg area, leased to local agencies and businesses on an experimental basis. By 2020 they expect to have autonomous cars in production and on sale.

They envisage commuters catching up on work, emails and social media while their cars drive them to the office or back home again. The future has arrived.