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Nissan Serena Autopilot

The 2022 Nissan Serena minivan will be the first Japanese car with autonomous driving. It arrives in August. The Nissan ProPilot system provides self-driving at speeds suited for Japanese roads, betwixt 30 and 100 kph, or xix to 62 mph. It volition follow the vehicle in front, boring to a cease then come up to speed again, stay centered in lane, and bargain with cut-ins, the cars that squeeze into the infinite between yous and the car in front.

Nissan ProPilot uses both radar and camera systems. It'south partnering with Israel'due south MobileEye, which provides much of the technology behind Tesla Autopilot, as well as systems by GM, BMW, and Volvo. Speaking of Autopilot, Nissan at its press conference today in Yokohama made articulate what ProPilot tin and cannot practise, including no lane changes. That comes in 2022.

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How ProPilot works

Nissan declares that "ProPilot is a revolutionary autonomous drive engineering science designed for highway employ in single-lane traffic," significant the car stays within a single lane no matter how many travel lanes there are. "Nissan is the first Japanese automaker to introduce a combination of steering, accelerator and braking that can exist operated in full automated mode, easing driver workload in heavy highway traffic and long commutes."

The components of ProPilot include a front-facing photographic camera, an electronic control module for the throttle, electrical power steering capable of being controlled by the processors, a restriction controller, an electric parking brake to hold the car when stopped without the driver pressing the brake pedal, and an ADAS (avant-garde driver aid systems) engine control unit of measurement interim every bit a master controller for the other components. ProPilot is engaged with a two-button sequence: Press the ProPilot from off to on (ready), then printing a Ready button. The diagram to a higher place shows a sharp bend that would throw off nearly lane-centering systems, so we're bold that's for illustrative purposes only.

More than capabilities, more countries coming

What Nissan is doing is delivering a gear up of self-driving features well-suited to the Japanese habitation marketplace: no speed over 60 mph, the ability to deal with cars cut in lane but alee (electric current adaptive cruise control systems accept a 2d or so to recognize the intruder and dorsum off), and no demand to keep your foot on the restriction pedal while stopped in traffic or at signals.

Nissan says information technology will offering lane-alter capabilities, much as Tesla has now, in 2022. That requires blind spot and side sonar to make sure the adjacent lane is open. For the US market, the adaptive cruise control portion would need to work at higher speeds for superhighway commuters, where speeds at rush hour could become down to zero, or upwardly to 75 mph when traffic clears for a mile or two.

Nissan also said it plans to take ProPilot from highway to urban center by 2022, including intersection negotiation, pregnant the ability to deal with crossing traffic and pedestrians on urban roads.

The Serena is a minivan 185 inches long, a couple inches long than a Nissan Rogue, with a taller, boxier shape to maximize space efficiency, and a shorter hood.