NISSAN

Nissan LEAF Features New Advanced Autonomous Driving System

Nissan has begun testing a prototype vehicle equipped with autonomous driving technologies, demonstrating progress toward its goal of deploying autonomous mobility services by fiscal year 2027.

The Nissan LEAF prototype vehicle incorporates 14 cameras, 10 radars and 6 LIDAR sensors, demonstrating Nissan’s advancements in the field of autonomous driving, especially in complex urban environments. Compared to previous prototypes, the latest test vehicle incorporates a series of roof-mounted sensors, which significantly expands the detection area and enables more accurate detection of the surrounding environment.

As a result, recognition performance, behavior prediction and control functions have been improved, providing smooth operation in a variety of complex scenarios. On the busy streets of Yokohama, near Nissan’s headquarters in Japan, the LEAF prototype is able to smoothly demonstrate its ability to predict pedestrian behavior, perform lane changes when merging with traffic and judge when to safely enter intersections.

Nissan has been exploring business models for future mobility services since fiscal 2017. The company intends to continue expanding functionality and begin offering autonomous mobility services in Japan from fiscal 2027, working with third parties such as local authorities and transportation operators. In the fourth quarter of this fiscal year, Nissan plans to begin testing in the Minato Mirai area and plans to move to demonstration service testing in fiscal 2025. 

During the testing, the level of autonomous driving functionality will gradually increase while assessing customer acceptance, with the goal of offering driverless services. This initiative is being carried out in close collaboration with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; and other central ministries. These ministries will also promote initiatives to implement new autonomous mobility services under the Level 4 Mobility Acceleration Committee they organize. Nissan’s long-term vision is to promote mobility by solving transportation service issues faced by local communities. Local communities, especially in Japan, have been facing several mobility challenges, including a shortage of drivers as a result of an aging population. To help address this challenge, Nissan will offer a wide range of new services.

Autonews