Self-driving cars will revolutionise the way we travel, work and live and create a $7 trillion-a-year industry by 2050, according to Intel.

The US tech giant is forecasting what it terms a “passenger economy” that will create massive opportunities for new businesses as people transform from drivers into riders with time - rather than a steering wheel - on their hands.

Some of the more outlandish predictions from the Intel research include what it calls “car-venience” applications such as onboard beauty salons in cars, as well as mobile health clinics and treatment pods. It even imagines that self-driving vehicles could “platoon” together to form pod hotels.