Nissan working on new driver-assistance technology for future autonomous driving

Nissan has started working on a new driver-assistance technology that will help enhance the collision avoidance feature in its vehicles for future autonomous driving. The in-development technology will utilize highly accurate, real-time information about the vehicle’s surrounding environment to dramatically enhance collision avoidance and help reduce traffic accidents. The carmaker demonstrated the technology on a test vehicle at its facility in Yokohama, Japan.

Nissan’s ‘ground truth perception’ technology fuses information from next-generation high-performance LIDAR, radar and cameras. It can detect the shape and distance of objects, as well as the structure of the area surrounding the vehicle, in real time with a high degree of accuracy. Utilizing this information, the vehicle is able to instantly analyze the current situation, judge and automatically perform required collision-avoidance operations.

The carmaker's new drive-assistance technology can also detect slowed traffic and road obstacles in the distance and execute lane changes accordingly. The technology can also provide increased support to drivers in areas where detailed map information is not available. Nissan's senior vice president - leading global research and development, Takao Asami, said, “We are confident that our technology will make a significant contribution to owner confidence, reduced traffic accidents and autonomous driving in the future."

Nissan has partnered with other cutting-edge companies to research and develop this technology and share the know-how. The next-generation LIDAR, a crucial element, is being integrated into Nissan’s system in collaboration with Luminar1. For verification technology, Nissan is teaming up with Applied Intuition2, which has state-of-the-art simulation technology.

With the use of LIDAR technology, Nissan aims to significantly reduce accidents, a goal that is part of its Nissan Ambition 2030. The company hopes to complete the development of its ground truth perception technology by the mid-2020s, and make it available on select new models, and on virtually every new model by fiscal year 2030.