Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche plans to unveil an autonomous concept at the Consumer Electronics Show next month in Las Vegas, but the maker released a few drawings in advance.

The race to put the first fully autonomous vehicle on the road is heating up. Dieter Zetsche, Daimler AG CEO, plans to unveil a Mercedes concept car loaded with the technology is hopes to use for its vehicle.

Mercedes-Benz released a few drawings of the interior of this vehicle, which allows the front seats to swivel around to face the back seat, allowing all of the occupants to engage in conversation. There’s even a small table in the center of the cabin that could act as a small coffee table.

Zetsche will be the keynote speaker at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January in Las Vegas, which is when he’ll show off this new concept.

Mercedes has been very active in the U.S. when it comes to developing a self-driving vehicle. A few months back, the maker announced it was the second automaker – Audi was the other – to gain approval for autonomous vehicle testing in California.

Mercedes is hinting at what the interior of the future could look like for autonomous vehicles.

The maker was testing on public roads in September, but now uses the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS) in southern California to test much of its future technology.

“We can use the test site in Concord, California, to run simulation tests with self-driving vehicles in a secure way, including specific hazardous situations,” said Dr. Axel Gern, head of autonomous driving at Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America, Inc.

(Mercedes-Benz expands driverless car testing in California. For more, Click Here.)

“Taken in conjunction with the results of our test drives on public roads, these tests will help us with the ongoing development of our autonomous cars.”

(Click Here for details on Volvo’s new “twin engine” XC90.)

The focus of research nevertheless continues to lie on the tests undertaken in a real-life environment, he added.

(To see more about VW’s 2015 Touareg, Click Here.)

“Real life” is the key phrase. Mercedes performs the bulk of its testing and development at the northern California naval base. It has a testing site that features a network of surfaced roads resembling an urban grid plan, making it an ideal location for testing autonomously driving vehicles in surroundings that are as close to real life as they can be.

For security reasons the testing ground, which is operated by the U.S. Navy in conjunction with the City of Concord and the Contra Costa County Transportation Authority, is not accessible to the public. With a test area covering 2,100 acres, the CNWS site is currently the largest and most secure test bed site in the U.S., according to Mercedes.