Driverless buses have been unveiled in Glasgow before they hit the road next year.

The autonomous vehicles, which will take passengers across the Forth Road Bridge, have been exhibited at the SEC ahead of their on-road trial in 2020.

Five single deck buses - operated by Stagecoach East Scotland - will travel between Ferry Toll Park and Ride in Fife and the Edinburgh Park train and tram interchange.

The vehicles will have a driver on board for safety reasons but they will control themselves.

Transport secretary Michael Matheson MSP opened the Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) summit and saw first-hand the technology that will be used as part of the trial.

He has described the buses as having the potential to change lives and wants Scotland to be at the "forefront" as the technology is developed.

Matheson said: "The deployment of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) has the potential to bring transformative change to peoples' lives, not just in how we travel, but in how we work, where we live, the environment, and safety.

"I intend Scotland to be at the forefront of these technologies as they are developed, tested and implemented.

"Scotland is working towards a must-be place for CAV development.

"We want Scotland to be at the forefront of developments in this area, offering high quality test and demonstrator opportunities to developers and industry.

"Our Programme for Government includes a commitment to encourage and support the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and explore with others how Scotland can best capitalise on the opportunities and benefits of this technology."

Transport Network runs the summit on behalf of Transport Scotland.

Adrian Tatum, director of content for Transport Network, said: "There are still many unanswered questions around CAV development: preparing our roads for autonomous vehicles; insurance and legal issues; and public confidence.

"The CAV Scotland event is the perfect opportunity to address some of those questions and demonstrate why Scotland is the ideal place to continue the debate and to host further necessary trials and research."