Perth is set to become the first Australian city, and one of the first places in the world, to trial on-demand driverless cars capable of picking up passengers.

Operating in much the same way as ride-sharing services like Uber, customers will be able to order a ride using a smart-phone app.

A car will then arrive to take them wherever they need to go — only without a driver.

The WA Government has partnered with the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) and the French company behind the technology, NAVYA, to bring several driverless cars to the state for testing next year.

Perth was one of three cities chosen for the trial, the others being Paris and a US city yet to be announced.

The vehicles are set to arrive in April 2018 and will be tested on private roads before being taken onto city streets later in the year.

The fully-electric vehicles will also be trialled in Paris and an unknown US city. ( Supplied: RAC/NAVYA )

Members of the public will be able to sign up to be passengers during the public road tests, in much the same way as the trials of an automated shuttle bus in South Perth, also made by NAVYA.

Unlike the bus, the driverless cars have leather seats for six passengers and can reach a maximum speed of 90 kilometres an hour.

But it is expected that like the buses, speeds will be regulated during trials — and the RAC will also have a human chaperone onboard, capable of overriding the computer systems.

Cars use 3D perception to detect obstacles

When operating automatically, the vehicles employ multi-sensor technology including four radars, six cameras and two links to global navigation satellite systems.

The cars use a host of sensors and cameras to map the environment around them. ( Supplied: RAC/NAVYA )

The features give the vehicles 3D perception that allows them to map the environment, detect obstacles and respond accordingly.

RAC WA's CEO Terry Agnew said it was hoped driverless technology could one day eliminate the 90 per cent of road crashes that were caused by human error.

He said the technology would tie in nicely with Perth's existing transport systems, and suggested the trial could put the city at the forefront of the "driverless revolution".

"The driverless passenger vehicles will largely be shorter journeys, they'll be inner-city and very often they might be simply connecting people up to public transport," he said

"So it complements the existing system rather than replacing it.

"It's very important with any new technology to stay ahead of the pack and this is the logical next phase."

Services could be running by 2021

Mr Agnew said while the technology was very close — with the service potentially operating by 2021 — it was important the community was ready for it and participated in the trial.

"It gives them the opportunity to try rather than read about it or be told about it," he said.

"Quite often you can see new technology is introduced and the community isn't ready for it.

"We want to ensure that Western Australians are ready for that."

There is no definite timetable for when the public trials will begin, with the RAC saying they will not go ahead until both it and the State Government are entirely comfortable.