Several big names within and outside the automotive industry are working directly or indirectly to perfect the concept of a self-driving car. Amongst them are two of the most renowned names in their respective fields – Volvo and Uber. The duo joined forces in 2016 to co-create a car that is capable of driving by itself. Since then several prototypes have been tested in different conditions and scenarios. Now, however, we have a finished product.

Meet the Volvo XC90 which is unlike any other we’ve seen before. It is the first production car that has Uber’s self-driving system embedded. In other words, it is a fully autonomous vehicle. Obviously, to make autonomy possible, Volvo and Uber made a number of changes to the SUV. The first one that catches the eye is the hat it wears. That comprises of an array of sensors which work in tandem with the ones built into the vehicle’s body to enable the self-driving system. You can think of these sensors as the car’s eyes and ears.

The list of changes which aren’t visible is in the software category. The Volvo Cars’ autonomous drive-ready production vehicle includes several back-up systems for both steering and braking functions as well as battery back-up power. These are in place to take charge if any of the primary systems should fail for some reason. Other driver assistance systems and safety features are still part of the self-driving SUV.

The companies say that the bonding between Volvo’s vehicle platform and Uber’s self-driving system may one day allow for fuss-free autonomous ridesharing without the need for a specially trained employee acting as a supervisor. Volvo Cars aims to use similar autonomous base vehicle concept for the introduction of its future autonomous drive cars in the early part of next decade. The next-gen of Volvo models, underpinned by the SPA2 vehicle architecture, will include features that enable unsupervised autonomous drive.