This is a bold step for the company in its goal of manufacturing self-driving cars in the near future.
The company gives a caution to its automaker competitors that it should warn the public about the proper mechanics and cautions that one should expect if one owns a "self-driving car". This is seen by experts and analysts as a safe move done by Nissan to create a safe and smart reputation to the public.
The new technology developed by Nissan is called the ProPILOT. This will be used in the revamped Serena family van. Initial reports state that this will be released to the Japanese market in late of August.
ProPILOT is planned to be offered in the Qashqai in Europe by 2017. The technology will be used by the American and Chinese Nissan branches in the years to come.
Nissan is very vague when the introductory timelines are being talked about.
ProPILOT allows a single-lane semiautonomous driving. This is only possible when driving on highways. It uses the car in front and the track lane markers together to estimate the curves.
The semi-autopilot technology keeps the vehicle a safe distance from the vehicle at its rear thanks to the intelligently modulating speed control. Sudden braking is also a feature of the technology and is capable of completely stopping the vehicle when worse comes to worse.
Self-steering is also one of the most important features that it has. It keeps the vehicle in the center of the lane while smoothly travelling through the curves. It enables the driver to take their hands off the wheel, but Nissan does not recommend the user in doing this.
The torque sensor located on the steering column tells if a hand is holding it. The autonomously driving systems that are in the market today are under heavy scrutiny because of the fatal crash of a Tesla Model S last May in the U.S.
The electric vehicle was in autopilot mode, but based on Tesla's statements, the crash data shows that the driver's hands were off the wheel during the incident.
However, this gives the opportunity for vehicle experts and analysts to scrutinize the possible false sense of security that this "semiautonomous" vehicle has.
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