Nissan announced that the new Serena, scheduled to go on sale in Japan in late August, will come equipped with the company’s ProPILOT autonomous drive technology, for single lane highway mobility. The company cautions drivers that the system must be monitored and is being proactive in warning about safety following the recent crash of a self-driving Tesla. . A torque sensor on the steering wheel base senses if hands are on the steering wheel. ProPILOT is the first step towards urban autonomous driving by Nissan in 2020.
We need to send out much stronger warnings as our technology becomes more advanced,” Executive Vice President Hideyuki Sakamoto said at a news conference in Japan. “Improving safety and functionality have to come as a set.”
ProPILOT is a r autonomous drive technology designed for highway use in single-lane traffic. The technology allows for steering, accelerator and braking that can be operated in full automatic mode, easing driver workload in heavy highway traffic and long commutes.
Employing advanced image-processing technology via camera made by Mobileye, the car’s ProPILOT system understands road and traffic situations and executes precise steering enabling the vehicle to perform naturally.
A switch on the steering wheel that allows the driver to easily activate and deactivate the system. ProPILOT’s easy-to-understand and fit-to-drive interface includes a personal display showing the operating status.
The accelerator, brakes and steering are controlled based on information obtained through a mono camera equipped with advanced-image processing software. The ProPILOT camera can quickly recognize in three-dimensional depth both preceeding vehicles and lane markers.
Once activated, ProPILOT automatically controls the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle, using a speed preset by the driver (between approximately 30 km/h and 100 km/h). The system also keeps the car in the middle of the highway lane by reading lane markers and controlls steering, even through curves. The driver can take over by touching a switch or tapping the gas pedal.
By 2018 Nissan plans technology to be used in mutiple lane highways and full autonomy by 2020.
ProPILOT will be introduced into other vehicles, including the Qashqai in Europe in 2017. There are also plans for the technology to be introduced in the U.S. and China markets. There is not word yet on the pricing for the system.
