CES 2020: Honda reveals roofless self-driving roadster

Honda has pulled the drapes off the Augmented Driving Concept – a roofless roadster that's said will help the transition to autonomous vehicles – at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week.

Featuring a traditional steering wheel but no windscreen, side glass or roof to protect you from the elements, the Augmented Driving Concept offers eight different driving modes that vary the level of assistance from the vehicle.

Presumably, this allows the keen driver to take full control of the vehicle on a decent stretch of road while protecting others who are easily distracted.

In the video, Honda demonstrates the clever tech with a driver who travels through some picturesque countryside and then 'hands over the driving' to the car on the move to enable her to take a photo.

That dinner plate-style steering wheel, meanwhile, has embedded sensors that activate the driverless tech when the driver swipes the outer rim of the wheel.

The steering wheel is also used to start the car by patting it twice. Pushing it forwards and backwards, meanwhile, is said to control acceleration.

Thought to be based closely on the Honda E supermini that's on sale in Europe this year, the Augmented Driving Concept is likely to run a development of the cute hatch's pure-electric powertrain.

Like that car, the small battery-powered roadster has a stripped-back minimalistic interior that majors on space.

As well as the Augmented Driving Concept, the Japanese car-maker used the US tech show to preview its new 'Honda's Smartphone as Brain' concept, which allows a driver to control their phone using switches on their steering wheel or, if riding a motorcycle, handle bar.

The clever new tech also incorporates Honda's next-gen voice recognition tech that helps reduce distracted driving.