It really is hands free! Self-driving Mercedes-Benz is unveiled - and it should be available within seven years

Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz and Smart cars, has announced that it will start selling a self-driving car by 2020.

It is thought the car will be able to drive on its own in most situations but will still hand control back to the driver during difficult situations such as dealing with traffic lights.

The move could help Daimler regain its position as the leading luxury car market from its rival BMW.

- AN OBSTACLE AHEAD FOR DAIMLER

A particular challenge for autonomous vehicles is the way in which they communicate and interact with other cars.


Coming to an agreement with an oncoming vehicle on who should proceed first around an obstruction is something that requires a very great deal of situational analysis.

'Where a human driver might boldly move forward into a gap, our autonomous vehicle tends to adopt a more cautious approach,' said Prof Ralf Herrtwich, head of driver assistance and suspension systems at Daimler.

'This sometimes results in comical situations, such as when, having stopped at a zebra crossing, the vehicle gets waved through by the pedestrian – yet our car stoically continues to wait, because we failed to anticipate such politeness when we programmed the system.'