Nissan shows its self-driving van in Japan trial
Nissan is testing out a self-driving van in Japan as part of its plans for a commercial service in the next two years.
The trial in Yokohama’s Minato Mirai area uses a Serena — Japan’s top selling minivan — with 14 cameras, nine radars and six LiDAR sensors.
The roof-mounted sensors offer significantly expanded detection by taking advantage of the height of the Serena and enabling more accurate detection of its surroundings compared to earlier test vehicles based on the Leaf. In addition, the use of AI has significantly enhanced recognition, behavioural prediction and judgment as well as control, delivering smooth operation in a variety of complex scenarios.
This follows the completion of the evolvAD self-driving technology project in the UK with the Nissan Leaf electric car and the end of the company’s UK trials.
To ensure the safety of the test vehicle demonstration, Nissan engineers verified an extensive number of possible scenarios along the driving route, added an immediate stop function for emergencies, and introduced intentional redundancies.
The vehicle is also monitored remotely and can be controlled by an external driver.
Currently, Nissan is planning service demonstration tests involving approximately 20 vehicles to take place in Yokohama starting this year with autonomous driving mobility services in 2027 using remote monitoring.
This initiative will be promoted in close cooperation with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; other government ministries, and Yokohama City. The ministries will also promote initiatives to create new autonomous mobility services through their Level 4 Mobility Acceleration Committee.
evolvAD
The evolvAD project builds on previous Nissan-backed projects in the UK – HumanDrive and ServCity – and ends an intensive eight-year period during which more than 16,000 autonomous miles were driven across the country’s motorways, urban centres, residential streets and countryside, with zero accidents.
“All three research projects have been tremendously successful in driving our knowledge and understanding of how AD technology performs across challenging driving environments,” said David Moss, Senior Vice President, Region Research & Development for Nissan AMIEO (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, and Oceania).
“It has been a privilege working with our dedicated partners to advance AD mobility. As well as making driving safer by reducing human error, and cleaner by improving efficiency, this technology can give many more people access to mobility who may not have it today due to location, age or disability.
“Our talented UK team at Nissan Technical Centre Europe in Cranfield will continue developing this technology, and we’re excited to bring AD mobility services to customers in the coming years.”
The next phase will assess the readiness of cities and regions across the UK for the future introduction of AD systems and services.
During evolvAD, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), were tested in various simulators and on private test-tracks before being introduced onto urban residential and rural roads for the most rigorous test of AD technology ever in the UK.
These road types present unique challenges for AD technology, including low speed driving on narrow, single lane roads in urban residential areas. For higher speed routes on winding roads with no markings in rural areas, Nissan has introduced a chassis control system for the AD vehicle to enhance the brakes and steering to allow it to perform as an Advanced Driver.
Using infrastructure such as CCTV on residential streets, the evolvAD CAVs received information to improve situational awareness, creating a unique test study on how vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) can be used to enhance the performance of CAVs, as well as developing all-new V2I technologies.
“Following the successful conclusion of evolvAD and previous projects, we are now shifting towards studying the readiness of the UK to introduce AD systems,” said Robert Bateman, evolvAD Project Manager and Manager of Nissan’s Research and Advanced Engineering team, Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE).
“Again, working with partners, we need to develop a 360-degree understanding of infrastructure and regulatory needs across the country, and provide critical insights to policy-makers and urban planners to ensure a successful introduction of AD mobility services in the right way and at the right time.”
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