60 Minutes, Mercedes-Benz steer driverless cars

In its segment on driverless cars, 60 Minutes showcased the latest technology being hotly pursued by numerous automakers, most notably Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

With Bill Whitaker as the segment host and Mercedes-Benz engineer Alex Hilliger von Thile as the “driver” the duo took a spin in a Mercedes F015. It’s the futuristic-looking prototype the German carmaker is testing as car that does the driving — on a pre-programmed course.

The sleek Mercedes-Benz had a lot newfangled equipment: As the segment detailed:

* Any passenger can control the car from any seat, two of which can face forward or backward;

* The no-button dashboard pops up with the swipe of a hand and responds to both eye movements and hand gestures;

* In the clip, Mercedes-Benz engineer adjusts the volume of the car’s music without touching a knob;

* The car uses cameras and radar sensors to detect its surroundings.

Von Thile’s also explains thcar’s ability to choose music from your playlist based on traffic.

“When you’re stuck in gridlock, he said. “it picks a calming song, and then shifts to something more ‘vibrant’ and ‘lively’ when the road is clear.”