I took a ride in an Nvidia-powered autonomous Mercedes at GTC 2026 - and it’s convinced me this is the future

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As AI and robotics become an ever-more important presence in everyday life, the use cases are quickly going from science fiction to real life.

One of the most popular areas of interest is autonomous vehicles, self-driving cars able to navigate the roads and get us to our destination without needing to touch the wheel.

The technology behind autonomous vehicles is developing and evolving fast - and I got to try out a taste of the future at the recent Nvidia GTC 2026 event, taking to the streets of San Jose in a specially-equipped Mercedes CLA - here’s how I got on.

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