Mercedes-Benz is helping to usher in the age of the autonomous taxi. Chances are, in five years’ time, your urban taxi driver could be a computer. The incoming vehicles are a whole lot cleaner, promising to improve urban air quality significantly as the shift to autonomy ramps up.

Information and details are scant at this point, but what is known is that Mercedes is designing the autonomous taxis to be autonomous taxis and nothing else—they will not involve existing models with a retrofit system, in other words—and that the company will begin real-world testing in the first half of this year.

The robo-taxis to be tested by Daimler—together with German automotive supply giant Bosch—will be level 3, 4, and 5 autonomous vehicles; the classification system indicates the degree of autonomy involved in the operation of the car. Level 5 autonomy is comprehensive, without even a steering wheel necessary for contingencies.

In the U.S., autonomous taxis are currently being tested or developed by Waymo and GM. Last fall, GM announced the development of a production line of similar vehicles, promising testing this year; Waymo’s minivans are already being tested in the Southwest. Uber has been conducting real-world testing in Toronto.

As of now, 20 U.S. states have approved legislation allowing autonomous vehicle use on public roads.