Nissan, NASA form r&d pact to develop, deploy autonomous vehicles
AF News Desk
01-09-2015, 11:29 AM
Nissan Motor Corp. and NASA formed a five-year pact (http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/nissan-and-nasa-partner-to-jointly-develop-and-deploy-autonomous-drive-vehicles-by-end-of-year) to develop the technologies that will enable autonomous driving.
The first vehicle to use hardware and software jointly developed by Nissan and NASA is scheduled to be tested by the end of the year, Nissan said in a statement late Thursday.
Nissan will provide a fleet of battery powered Nissan Leafs, and work will be carried out at two locations -- Nissan’s Silicon Valley Research Center and NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.
The Leaf has built-in electronic hardware that makes building an autonomous vehicle easier.
A Nissan spokesman declined to say how many engineers would be assigned to the project.
The research and development partnership covers technology in four areas:
• Autonomous drive systems, which involves any mechanical part of the vehicle that enables it to accelerate, brake and steer.
• Human-machine interface solutions
• Network-enabled applications, which allows the vehicle to know where it is and safely drive in areas with other vehicles
• Software analysis and verification
Self-driving vehicles are becoming more important to NASA as the agency seeks to further develop technology and create vehicles capable of someday driving on Mars. A Mars rover needs to be able to drive autonomously if it cannot be controlled from earth.
“The work of NASA and Nissan -- with one directed to space and the other directed to earth, is connected by similar challenges," Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said in a statement. "The partnership will accelerate Nissan's development of safe, secure and reliable autonomous drive technology that we will progressively introduce to consumers beginning in 2016 up to 2020."
Nissan’s goal is to introduce a self-driving vehicle that can navigate safely in nearly all driving situations, including the toughest environment -- city driving.
“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."
Automakers and suppliers, such as Germany’s Robert Bosch and ZF Group, are racing to perfect self-driving vehicles. The market for the technology could be as large as $42 billion by 2025, according to Boston Consulting Group.
Earlier this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Ford CEO Mark Fields predicted an automaker will have a self-driving car ready in five years.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150108/OEM06/150109897/nissan-nasa-form-rd-pact-to-develop-deploy-autonomous-vehicles
The first vehicle to use hardware and software jointly developed by Nissan and NASA is scheduled to be tested by the end of the year, Nissan said in a statement late Thursday.
Nissan will provide a fleet of battery powered Nissan Leafs, and work will be carried out at two locations -- Nissan’s Silicon Valley Research Center and NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.
The Leaf has built-in electronic hardware that makes building an autonomous vehicle easier.
A Nissan spokesman declined to say how many engineers would be assigned to the project.
The research and development partnership covers technology in four areas:
• Autonomous drive systems, which involves any mechanical part of the vehicle that enables it to accelerate, brake and steer.
• Human-machine interface solutions
• Network-enabled applications, which allows the vehicle to know where it is and safely drive in areas with other vehicles
• Software analysis and verification
Self-driving vehicles are becoming more important to NASA as the agency seeks to further develop technology and create vehicles capable of someday driving on Mars. A Mars rover needs to be able to drive autonomously if it cannot be controlled from earth.
“The work of NASA and Nissan -- with one directed to space and the other directed to earth, is connected by similar challenges," Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said in a statement. "The partnership will accelerate Nissan's development of safe, secure and reliable autonomous drive technology that we will progressively introduce to consumers beginning in 2016 up to 2020."
Nissan’s goal is to introduce a self-driving vehicle that can navigate safely in nearly all driving situations, including the toughest environment -- city driving.
“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."
Automakers and suppliers, such as Germany’s Robert Bosch and ZF Group, are racing to perfect self-driving vehicles. The market for the technology could be as large as $42 billion by 2025, according to Boston Consulting Group.
Earlier this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Ford CEO Mark Fields predicted an automaker will have a self-driving car ready in five years.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150108/OEM06/150109897/nissan-nasa-form-rd-pact-to-develop-deploy-autonomous-vehicles
tonioseven
01-09-2015, 03:45 PM
That's definitely different!
amy@af
01-09-2015, 04:00 PM
Everybody is trying to lead the charge. Nissan says "I raise you all with Rocket Science"....we'll see who folds & who taps out!
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