Drivers across America be warned - there's an 'unmanned' car on the road.

A driverless car is currently on a cross-country road trip to test the state-of-the-art technology that allows a driver to sit back and relax with no hands on the wheel.

Delphi Automotive launched the first coast-to-coast test of a driverless car on Sunday, starting at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

For the next week, the specially rigged Audi SQ5 SUV will be headed on a 3,500 mile journey to New York City.

It is expected to arrive before the New York International Auto Show on April 3, ending what Delphi Automotive describes as the 'longest automated drive ever attempted in North America'

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'Look ma, no hands': Delphi Automotive started the first cross-county test drive of an automatic car (pictured), starting in San Francisco

Take off: Two people will be in the car at all times during the journey from San Francisco to New York for an automotive show

Test run: Delphi is using the cross-country trip to gather data and check on the car's safety systems

But Delphi insists that drivers on the road shouldn't be scared if they pass by their test vehicle.

Two people will be in the car at all times to take over the controls in emergencies - or more often, construction zones.

Delphi, one of the largest suppliers of automotive electronics and safety systems, is using the long journey in the Audi crossover to acquire 2.3 terabytes data from a sophisticated array of cameras, radar and lidar - a laser mapping technology.

SF TO NY WITHOUT A DRIVER The Delphi drive kicked off March 22 near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, with plans to wind up in New York City just before the annual auto show opens there on April 3. During the coast-to-coast journey in the Audi, at least two Delphi engineers will be aboard, including one behind the wheel. The venture informed all of the states it will pass through about its unmanned car, and all of them agreed to let the vehicle travel on their roads. Advertisement

The car comes with 20 sensors including four short-range radars, three vision-based cameras, six lidars, a localization system and a driver assistance program.

The Michigan-based firm also wants to test and demonstrate its wireless and active safety systems.

Delphi's demonstration underscores growing interest and investments by automakers and suppliers in self-driving cars, some of which could be production-ready by 2020.

Jeff Owens, Delphi's chief technology officer, sees the automated driver assistance systems in the Audi as building blocks on the road to fully self-driving cars in the next decade.

Delphi has been working on automated cars since 1999, when it split from GM, according to Ars Technica.

Google, which has also been working on self-driving cars, has made public statements about having such a vehicle available in five years.

The tech giant has been testing out its vehicles around its Mountain View, California, campus.

Tesla Motors, the electric car brainchild of Elon Musk, also announced last week that new software out this summer will let cars be largely automatic on the highway.

Smart car: The Audi is decked out with a range of sensors (pictured) that include our short-range radars, three vision-based cameras and six lidars, a laser mapping technology

Making improvements: Delphi, one of the largest suppliers of automotive electronics and safety systems, is using the long journey in the Audi crossover to acquire data from a sophisticated array of cameras and radars

The Audi heading to New York will be able to stop and proceed at four-way stops and find the best way to get around cyclists, according to Delphi.

It can also navigate complicated procedures such as merging on to the highway.

Though commuters may be dreaming of kicking back on the way to work, Owens said, 'our view is that the driver is going to be in the seat for a long time' in case of emergency situations.

During the coast-to-coast journey, one of two engineers aboard will be behind the wheel.

Delphi will now test such functions as traffic jam assist, automated highway pilot with lane change and automated parking and valet.

All of those systems are expected to be introduced in production cars over the next two to three years.

The car had previously been tested on the streets of Las Vegas during the CES 2015 conference and has been on road trips between the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

Video of the car's steering wheel moving on its own can be seen on YouTube.

Fully automated systems that may be phased in after 2020 could add about $5,000 to the cost of a car, estimates Glen De Vos, vice president of advanced and product engineering for Delphi's electronics and safety division.

Car of the future? Development times for self-driving cars (pictured) vary, with Google saying it could have one on the road in five years

Safety first: The firm also wants to test and demonstrate its active safety systems (above) designed to prevent crashes and keep the car in its lane

The car and its potential human drivers will not travel at night or in difficult weather as they make their way to New York

Delphi is providing some of the components and technology, including vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity, for GM's Super Cruise automated driving system, which will debut in 2016 on the new Cadillac CT6 sedan.

During the cross-country trek, the vehicle will be challenged under a variety of driving conditions from changing weather and terrain to potential road hazards -- things that could never truly be tested in a lab.

The Audi will avoid harsh weather and not drive at night, according to PC Mag. It will drive about eight hours a day.

While states such as California are just beginning to allow testing of automated vehicles, all of the states the car will pass through are allowing the unmanned car on their roads.

Delphi director John Absmeier said that once the automation system is tested it will be applicable to any car model.