No, this isn't a view of the latest isolationist technology to follow the current plugged-in-all-the-time-to-don't-bother-me music, writes Brian Byrne.
It's a group experiencing in virtual reality what it might be like to be travelling in an autonomous (self-driving) Mercedes-Benz of the not far distant future.
It was part of a recent technology day held by Mercedes-Benz in California, where the company's latest advances in autonomous technology were demonstrated.
Mercedes-Benz cars in S, E, C and CLS classes already offer a number of semi-autonomous technologies, and one of their cars recently completed a 100km journey on public roads without any driver input.