Nissan showcases driverless technology

Nissan have showcased their latest autonomous drive technology in Yokohama’s Minato Mirai area. For the first time in Japan, a test vehicle with no driver in the car has navigated a public road in a complex urban environment. Nissan has developed this proprietary technology for a mobility service it plans to launch in Japan.

This is a significant step to empowering mobility by resolving transportation service challenges faced by local communities, such as driver shortages resulting from an aging population. By leveraging new technologies such as the recently showcased advanced driverless technology, Nissan will provide a broad range of new services that enable freedom of mobility.

Nissan is expanding its efforts to verify the safety of advanced driverless technology tailored to different traffic conditions worldwide. In order to achieve this goal, Nissan is utilising insights and technologies gained through research in Japan, research in Silicon Valley conducted by the Nissan Advanced Technology Centre and participation in the UKs evolvAD project.

The latest test vehicles are based on the Serena, Japan’s top selling minivan and incorporate 14 cameras, nine radars and six LiDAR sensors. Roof mounted sensors offer significantly expanded detection of its surroundings, compared to earlier test vehicles. In addition the use of AI has significantly enhanced recognition, behavioural prediction and judgement as well as control, delivering smooth operation in a variety of complex scenarios.

To ensure the utmost in safety for the test vehicle demonstration, Nissan engineers verified an extensive number of possible scenarios along the driving route, added an immediate stop function for emergencies and introduced intentional redundancies.

Nissan has been demonstrating and testing advanced driverless technology since 2017. The next phase in the development will comprise the planning of demonstration tests involving approximately 20 vehicles to take place in Yokohama during 2025 and 2026 as Nissan continues to develop an operational framework and service ecosystem in conjunction with stakeholders.

Following these tests, Nissan aims to provide an autonomous driving mobility service in collaboration with municipalities and transportation operators, with remote monitoring.

Nissan will continue to advance its technology while establishing services in Yokohama based on development and verification results both in Japan and abroad.