Nissan and the Future of Self-Driving Cars

Aug 2, 2017

It seems like everyone’s talking about self-driving cars these days. A few high-end luxury vehicles can already drive themselves (under a driver’s supervision), and driver assistance technology is coming to more and more cars. Nissan is aware of this trend, too, and so the company is developing self-driving technology of its own.

Driving Should Be Opt-Out

Nissan thinks that cars should be able to offer a fun driving experience. That’s why they offer things like a real racing trim on their compact sedan, the Sentra NISMO, and they have two sports cars under the Nissan name instead of just the INFINITI luxury brand. So while a self-driving feature can make a boring commute go by faster, that same car should be able to cut loose under manual control with the flip of a switch.

Self-Driving and Artificial Intelligence

According to Nissan’s CEO, self-driving features will be just one thing the vehicle’s artificial intelligence, or AI, can do. Vehicle infotainment systems are becoming more connected and more advanced, and they’re integrating more completely with your phones. That means a self-driving car will be able to pick out the best route with GPS navigation and avoid traffic jams thanks to real-time updates. It can also detect other connected vehicles and move around them.

Self-driving cars may need human supervision and “training” to make sure they don’t get into any accidents, but it’s looking more and more like a future where even the driver is a passenger is coming closer every year.

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