Mercedes: We need to talk about self-driving cars

- Read all the latest news from the 2015 Detroit motor show here

It's time we had the talk.

Mercedes-Benz head of group research, Thomas Weber, says society must begin to openly discuss how they want to interact with cars in the future in order to shape development of future models.

"Autonomous driving needs a huge public discussion with customers willing to talk about it.

"We believe the future of the car is bright, but only if we change something – going green, going autonomous, going connected.

"Some of this has started, but we are in the beginning."

Mercedes-Benz is well along the way in shaping the future of autonomous vehicles. The brand's F 015 concept, a one-off for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, combined self-driving technology with a carriage style interior that allowed four occupants to swivel their chairs toward a central table, or to place them in conventional positions facing the same direction.

The car features LED lights that signal its intentions to pedestrians, along with sophisticated entertainment displays guided by hand gestures and eye-tracking.

Importantly for the brand, it also retains a conventional steering wheel and pedals, something not all companies are committed to.

The Google car, for example, has a simple touch screen to allow occupants to choose their destination, but no direct controls for the vehicle's movement.

"We are opposite to Google, we decided in the future we will go for a steering wheel, because there are situations where I will take over," Weber says.

"Like highway number one alongside Sydney, these kinds of beautiful streets where there is technical enjoyment.

"The car should have the ability to go autonomous - if there is a long trip on the highway, why the hell would I sit behind the steering wheel? I would turn the seat [and] I would use the opportunity to relax, to concentrate on my work or a conference."

Weber says self-driving technology will reduce the number of crashes on the road, and empower drivers to take control of time ordinarily spent stuck in traffic.

"We started with a scenario in 2050 where 75 per cent of people on earth will live in crowded areas – in Beijing, in London and New York," he says.

"Terrible traffic is daily life. If you ask people in San Francisco, Paris and London it's a terrible situation every morning. They would love to use this time much better, to check emails, to have discussions.

"It's giving time back to the customer."