Nissan has two corporate visions it’s putting at the forefront of this technology: Zero Emission and Zero Fatality.
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The vehicle maker though stated they are adopting a different line of thought for its regular road going cars that for sure will have a higher degree of autonomy built into them.
Despite the push for autonomous driving tech, Nissan’s CEO, Carlos Ghosn said they’re not interested in launching a fully-autonomous auto, adding the driver will be able to take full control of the vehicle at his or her desire with the latest program. Nissan has announced that it is ready to begin testing on public roads.
Using all this technology, the auto can now autonomously perform maneuvers such as maintaining distance from a vehicle that it’s following, staying in its lane, changing lanes, overtaking slower or stopped vehicles, merging with traffic, exiting, negotiating interchanges, turning at intersections, and stopping for red lights.
Technologies for these systems go beyond computer programming, however, and include things like millimeter wave radar, laser scanners, high-speed computer processors, and specialized interfaces for human interaction (called HMI or human machine interface). Nissan informed that initial tests will be conducted in Japan and will be later expanded to other countries.
The new auto will feature the automaker’s Intelligent Driving System, including a Piloted Drive mode that will allow the vehicle to essentially be a robot on wheels in the right conditions. Nissan’s automated vehicle is based on Nissan Leaf and the project has been codenamed “Nissan Intelligent Driving”.
The new prototype vehicle possesses both of these innovative features, facilitating smooth transportation through complex traffic environments, helping the occupants feel as though they are in the hands of a skilled driver.
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Takao Asami, senior vice president of Nissan said, “We at Nissan are setting clear goals and preparing for the implementation of piloted drive”. Nissan plans to have Stage One of its plan known as Piloted Drive 1.0 ready by the end of 2016. “The prototype that we’re introducing here today is proof of how close we are towards the realization of this goal”.
