Nissan has recently announced its plans to launch multiple Autonomous Drive vehicles by the year 2020.
The company did not reveal much in terms of which models will get the technology first but did promise that the cars will have realistic prices. Within two vehicle generations, Nissan hopes to offer Autonomous Drive technology across the model range. The cars would come equipped with laser scanners, Around View Monitor cameras, actuators and advanced artificial intelligence which would help the driver to handle daily driver duties.
Other than the obvious technical challenges, the company has stated that the autonomous cars will also place new demands on the chassis and traction control system as machines can make faster and more complex movements than human beings. In order to get the models into production at the earliest, Nissan is also creating an autonomous driving proving ground in Japan.
The driving ground will feature real townscapes that promise to push vehicle testing beyond the limits possible on public roads to ensure that the technology is safe. If everything goes well according to the plan, this proving ground will be completed by the end of next year and sooner the cars will enter production phase and would be rolled out also faster.
