Nissan’s next-gen ProPILOT brings autonomous driving to busy cities

Japanese auto giant Nissan has unveiled a next-gen, advanced driver-assist technology that makes autonomous driving in complex urban settings possible.

The company announced on 22 September that the technology will combine Wayve’s “Wayve AI Driver” and Nissan’s “Ground Truth Perception” technology leveraging next-generation LiDAR to set new standards for driver assistance technologies.

known as ProPILOT, the technology has already been tested with a fleet of all-electric Nissan Ariya-based prototype vehicles which showed their ability to drive safely within the complex urban environment of central Tokyo.

Enhancing autonomous driving

Autonomous driving has become popular in the automotive industry, with all major car manufacturers tending towards the trend, and Nissan isn’t getting left behind.

With 11 cameras, 5 radar sensors, and a next-generation LiDAR sensor on the prototype vehicles, Nissan is setting new standards for safety of self-driving cars. 

Wayve’s AI Driver is a software that applies cutting-edge embodied AI technology to vehicle driving by processing image data from onboard camera sensors to enable smooth and safe driving within complex urban environments.

The technology can articulate its surroundings and anticipate what will happen next, which helps it make the best decision in the interest of its environment. This enables the vehicle to drive smoothly as if it had a human driver.

The high performance LiDAR sensor mounted on the roof is another key component of Nissan’s Ground Truth Perception technology suite that can accurately detect objects at greater distances than cameras, enhancing safety during high-speed and nighttime driving.

Major breakthrough for Nissan

Nissan has been making advances in technology development, but the unveiling of ProPILOT is a major breakthrough so far, especially after its partnership with Honda was aborted.

The ProPILOT technology has evolved from single-lane highway driving (ProPILOT) to multi-lane support (ProPILOT 2.0) and now next-gen ProPILOT brings reliable driver assistance even on complex urban roads.