New Tech From Nissan: LEAF w/CarPlay/Andriod Auto, Brain Connections, NASA Partnership & SAM Autonomous Driving

Nissan recently revealed it’s latest technology which include Brain-to-Vehicle technology, new LEAF, XMotion Concept SUV and collaboration with NASA for autonomous driving.

Brains Connect to Cars

Among the highlights will be Nissan’s pioneering Brain-to-Vehicle (B2V) technology. B2V interprets signals from the driver’s brain to assist with driving and to help the vehicle’s autonomous and manual systems learn from the driver. The technology promises shorter reaction times and systems that adapt to maximize driving pleasure.

Nissan IMx Concept

The Nissan IMx. The IMx promotes a stronger connection between car and driver. It has a full suite of autonomous driving capabilities, seating for four, and an electric powertrain with more torque than the Nissan GT-R.

New 2018 Nissan LEAF

The new generation of the Nissan LEAF, the world’s best-selling electric vehicle, combines the excitement of 100% electric driving with advanced technologies such as ProPILOT (ProPILOT Assist in the U.S.), e-Pedal and enhanced connectivity. The LEAF recently won the lowest cost to own for an electric vehicle from Kelley Blue Book. The all-new 2018 Nissan LEAF, which went on sale last month, has been completely re-invented for its second generation, combining greater range with a dynamic new design and the latest Nissan technology.

The 2018 LEAF S starts at just $29,990 and adds attractive new styling inside and out, a 40% increase in driving range, a 37% increase in horsepower, e-Pedal, Automatic Emergency Braking with a price that’s $690 lower than the previous model.

The 2018 LEAF SV includes the S trim’s long list of standard features – then adds Intelligent Cruise Control, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The top trim level, the 2018 LEAF SL, comes standard with additional features like Bose Premium audio system, Blind Spot Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Intelligent Around View Monitor and a portable L1/L2 charging cord.

 

Nissan ProPILOT 75K

Nissan announced today that it reached the milestone of selling 75,000 vehicles equipped with its ProPILOT Assist autonomous driving technology (known as ProPILOT in markets outside North America).

ProPILOT embodies Nissan’s commitment to making vehicles safer and more exciting to drive through its advanced technologies, part of the company’s Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision for changing how cars are powered, driven and integrated into society.

Nissan Xmotion

The new Nissan Xmotion concept is a design exploration for another potentially groundbreaking compact SUV.

The Xmotion concept features strong hints of a traditional SUV – the high stance, high-utility proportions and bulked-up fenders, stuffed with all-terrain-ready wheels and tires. Yet as the name implies, the Xmotion (pronounced “cross motion”) concept fuses Japanese culture and traditional craftsmanship with American-style utility and new-generation Nissan Intelligent Mobility technology.

The Nissan global design team behind the Xmotion concept wanted to bring something fresh to the segment by infusing Nissan’s Japanese heritage and aesthetics – while also preparing for a new automotive world driven by autonomous technologies.

The goal was to allow contrasting ideas and attributes to coexist. The result is a vehicle that’s quiet yet dynamic, calm yet emotional, and sophisticated yet tough.

The interior was created with the imagery of a Japanese landscape. The floor represents a river – with the center console acting as a bridge that connects the front and rear passenger areas.

On the console, an item called a “floating commander” can sense a passenger’s movement. It contains a motion sensor inside and scans the motion of a passenger’s hand to control the entertainment system, as well as the heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

Fingerprint authentication is used to start the operation of the Xmotion concept. When the driver touches the fingerprint authentication area on the top of the console, the opening sequence starts, awakening the virtual personal assistant – which takes the shape of a Japanese koi fish.

The koi jumps into the main screen. After linking with the driver’s smartphone, the navigation system automatically recognizes the destination, and other user information – such as weather, music and vehicle system info – will be activated. The navigation system recognizes the surrounding “information” while traveling.

For example, in autonomous drive mode, while changing lanes or overtaking other traffic, the virtual personal assistant will pick up other “browsing” information about points of interest along the way. In this way, the koi acts as a storyteller to connect human and machine.

The Xmotion concept also uses a camera monitoring system in place of traditional door mirrors and displays images and other information on the end display screens. The system senses and monitors other vehicles around the Xmotion concept.

Nissan & NASA

Nissan North America, Inc., the U.S.-based subsidiary of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., announced an agreement with NASA Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley to collaborate on research and technology development for future autonomous mobility services, including a working demonstration in Silicon Valley. This update to the existing research collaboration between Nissan and NASA builds on previous success to define a new scope of activities into 2019.

Under the terms of the five-year research and development partnership, researchers from the Nissan Research Center in Silicon Valley and NASA Ames have been working together to advance autonomous vehicle systems. In January 2017, at CES in Las Vegas, Nissan introduced Nissan Seamless Autonomous Mobility (SAM), a new platform for managing fleets of autonomous vehicles, developed from NASA technology. This new phase in the joint collaboration will build on that success to further develop the technology and test the use of SAM for managing autonomous transportation services, ahead of public implementations.

“We built SAM from technology NASA developed for managing interplanetary rovers as they move around unpredictable landscapes,” said Maarten Sierhuis, director of the Nissan Research Center in Silicon Valley. “Our goal is to deploy SAM to help third-party organizations safely integrate a fleet of autonomous vehicles in unpredictable urban environments, for example ride-hailing services, public transportation or logistics and delivery services. The final stage of our existing research agreement with NASA will bring us closer to that goal and test SAM in a working demonstration on public streets.”

“One of NASA’s strategic goals is to transfer the technology developed to advance NASA mission and program objectives to broader commercial and social applications,” said Eugene Tu, Center Director, NASA Ames. “Using NASA’s work in robotics to accelerate the deployment of autonomous mobility services is a perfect example of how the considerable work required to advance space exploration can also pioneer advances here on Earth.”

The research collaboration with NASA is part of Nissan’s roadmap for the technology and business evolution of the automotive industry, called Nissan Intelligent Mobility. This roadmap consists of three workstreams of inter-related innovations in autonomous drive (Intelligent Drive), electrification (Intelligent Power) and infrastructure technologies (Intelligent Integration). SAM represents a major milestone in Nissan Intelligent Integration, providing the infrastructure to safely and seamlessly integrate autonomous mobility services into existing urban environments.