Japanese automaker Nissan has announced it has agreed to a five-year research and development partnership with NASA. The goal of the deal is to create autonomous vehicle systems that can eventually be applied to commercially sold vehicles.
In the announcement, Nissan said that it is very excited about the potential of self-driving cars, which could lead to improved safety as well as lower emissions.
In terms of where the work will be done, NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffet Field, California will work with Nissan’s research unit in Silicon Valley.
From the press release:
Researchers from Nissan’s U.S. Silicon Valley Research Center and NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., will focus on autonomous drive systems, human-machine interface solutions, network-enabled applications, and software analysis and verification, all involving sophisticated hardware and software used in road and space applications.
Nissan plans on introducing autonomous driving technology between 2016 and 2020. It’s the company’s hope that by partnering with the developers of the Mars rover software and robots aboard the ISS, this process might be expedited.
“The partnership brings together the best and brightest of NASA and Nissan and validates our investments in Silicon Valley,” said Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn.
Some of the technology Nissan and NASA will be working on include sensors that engage a car’s brakes if it detects it’s about to collide with another vehicle. Also, systems that can park the car without any direction from the driver whatsoever.
“All of our potential topics of research collaboration with Nissan are areas in which Ames has strongly contributed to major NASA programs,” said director of Ames Research Center, S. Pete Worden. “Ames developed Mars rover planning software, robots onboard the International Space Station and Next Generation air traffic management systems to name a few. We look forward to applying knowledge developed during this partnership toward future space and aeronautics endeavors.”
Other companies that have announced intentions to research and develop autonomous vehicle technology: Toyota, GM, Ford, Tesla, and Google.
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