Google unveiled a prototype Tuesday of a self-driving car that can operate without a steering wheel or brakes.

Google unveiled a preview of the car to reporters at a conference in California. The electric-powered car has two seats, two buttons and a screen that displays the driving route. A combination of laser and radar sensors operate the vehicle, meaning a steering wheel and brakes are not needed, according to The Washington Post.

The cars rely on Google's road maps to drive. The driver of the vehicle will be able to start the car and navigate using a smartphone application, and the car will drive to the destination selected on the app. The only manual controls in the car are a stop/go button and an emergency button.

The cars will have a range of about 100 miles.

Christopher Urmson, the director of Google's self-driving car project, explained in a blog post that safety is the car's number one feature.

"We started with the most important thing: safety," he wrote. "They have sensors that remove blind spots, and they can detect objects out to a distance of more than two football fields in all directions, which is especially helpful on busy streets with lots of intersections. And we've capped the speed of these first vehicles at 25 mph."

He also wrote that they have tested out the cars by driving them around the streets of Mountain View, California.

"We've improved our software so it can detect hundreds of distinct objects simultaneously-pedestrians, buses, a stop sign held up by a crossing guard, or a cyclist making gestures that indicate a possible turn. A self-driving vehicle can pay attention to all of these things in a way that a human physically can't - and it never gets tired or distracted," he added.

Ron Medford, the project's safety director who is a former U.S. Department of Transportation administrator, said the car has two sets of steering and braking systems, so one can take over if the first one fails.

The front of the car will be constructed from a foam-like material to reduce the risk of injuring pedestrians in the event of a crash, and the windshield will be made of plastic instead of glass.

Google safety drivers are going to begin test-driving the cars this summer. If the tests go well, they hope to take the cars out on the open road for more test drives.

Additional controls will be added to the cars to comply with California's new automated driving rules.

Urmson said the controls will plug into the car, but will be most likely be removed entirely as the new technology evolves.

One hundred of the Google prototypes will be built in Detroit. However, Google does not intend to sell the cars.

"We're looking for friends and partners to make it happen," Urmson said.