Nissan begins testing Leaf self-driving car

Nissan has developed a prototype of the Leaf that will allow it to drive independently on Japanese roads. With the tests, the car manufacturer wants to improve its software for self-driving cars, and then launch a first version on the market sometime next year.

The car manufacturer had previously unfolded plans for allowing its cars to drive independently, but now also has a prototype that can actually be used in practice. Nissan reports this on its website. A version of the Leaf electric car will be used on Japanese highways and city roads to see if the self-driving software works properly. If that is the case, the software will be released next year.

The test is part of Nissan’s Intelligent Driving project. According to the automaker, the Leaf is equipped with radar technology, lasers and cameras to estimate the traffic situation. The test aims to further improve the software that allows the car to drive independently. Tests should also take place outside Japan in due course, but the details are not yet available.

Incidentally, the first version of the self-driving software that Nissan wants to release cannot yet change lanes. The software update that makes this possible will only come in 2018, and then only works on the highway. In 2020 it should also become possible to drive autonomously on city roads. Nissan announced earlier this year that it wanted self-driving cars on the Japanese market from next year. It is not yet known which cars will have access to self-driving capabilities, but Nissan seems to want to use this mainly on electric cars, such as the Leaf.

Tesla already came up with an update to make its Model S self-driving. This first version of Autopilot is not intended to replace the driver; Tesla states that drivers should keep their hands on the wheel, because the software is not yet able to handle all possible traffic situations well enough.