Nissan continues to work on launching an autonomous driving model in fiscal year 2027, and in this regard, the Japanese company has now announced that it has started demonstrations of a prototype vehicle equipped with its internally developed autonomous driving technologies.
The Nissan LEAF prototype incorporates 14 cameras, 10 radars, and 6 LiDAR sensors. The set of sensors mounted on the roof significantly expands the detection area and allows for more accurate detection of the surrounding environment.
As a result, the performance of recognition functions, behavior prediction, judgment functions, and control functions has been improved, providing, according to Nissan, “efficient operation in a variety of complex scenarios”.
In demonstrations conducted on the busy streets of Yokohama, the LEAF prototype is able to easily demonstrate its ability to predict pedestrian behavior, make lane changes when merging with traffic, and assess when to safely enter intersections.
Although the current demonstration is being carried out at the equivalent of Level 2 autonomous driving, with the presence of a safety driver, the company intends to continue expanding functionality and begin offering autonomous driving mobility services in Japan starting from fiscal year 2027.
The brand also announced that in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year, Nissan plans to start testing in the Minato Mirai area, with plans to move on to service demonstration tests in fiscal year 2025.
“During the tests, the level of autonomous driving functionality will be gradually increased while evaluating driver acceptance, with the goal of providing driverless services,” the Japanese manufacturer adds in a statement.
