Systems and methods for providing for manual driving of a vehicle with selectable transition between a two-seat configuration and a four-seat configuration

A method for selectively providing manual driving capabilities to an operator of a vehicle, comprising:

• transitioning a screen within the vehicle from a closed configuration to an open configuration by moving the screen to uncover an opening to a compartment of the vehicle and provide access to the compartment via the opening;
• transitioning a manual driving apparatus of the vehicle including a steering wheel system, an accelerator pedal, and a brake pedal from a concealed configuration to an exposed configuration by moving the manual driving apparatus toward a rear of the vehicle from within the compartment and behind the screen to at least partially outside of the compartment;
• and
• transitioning, by a controller with one or more processors, the vehicle from an autonomous operating mode wherein while in the autonomous operating mode the manual driving apparatus is in the concealed configuration and an automated driving system performs driving tasks of the vehicle without human intervention to a manual operating mode wherein while in the manual operating mode the manual driving apparatus is in the exposed configuration and at least some of the driving tasks are performed based on human interaction with the manual driving apparatus wherein while in the autonomous operating mode the manual driving apparatus is in the concealed configuration.

A vehicle, comprising:

• a screen within the vehicle configured to selectively transition between a closed configuration and an open configuration by moving the screen, wherein the screen covers an opening to a compartment of the vehicle while in the closed configuration and allows for access to the compartment via the opening while in the open configuration;
• a manual driving apparatus including a steering wheel system, and accelerator pedal, and a brake pedal configured to selectively transition between a concealed configuration and an exposed configuration by moving the manual driving apparatus toward a rear of the vehicle, wherein the manual driving apparatus is disposed within the compartment and behind the screen while in the concealed configuration and disposed at least partially outside of the compartment when in the exposed configuration;
• and
• a controller configured to, one or more processors, transition the vehicle between an autonomous operating mode and a manual operating mode, wherein while in the autonomous operating mode the manual driving apparatus is in the concealed configuration and an automated driving system is configured to perform driving tasks of the vehicle without human intervention, wherein while in the manual operating mode the manual driving apparatus is in the exposed configuration and the vehicle is configured to perform at least some of the driving tasks based on human interaction with the manual driving apparatus.