NISSAN DEMONSTRATES SELF-DRIVING CARS IN YOKOHAMA TRAFFIC

TOKYO, March 15 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Nissan Motor Co. has tested its self-driving vehicles on the streets of Yokohama in what the automaker says was the first time autonomous cars have travelled in ordinary city traffic in Japan, Kyodo News Agency reported.

The company says it intends to use data from the test for autonomous driving services it plans to offer to help the public transportation industry deal with driver shortages.

Members of the press sat in the back seats of modified Nissan Serena minivans as they travelled a 4-kilometre round-trip linking the firm's Yokohama headquarters with a nearby waterfront entertainment area in the recent test.

The vehicles navigated intersections, waited for pedestrians to cross and manoeuvred around cars stopped in the street, all while obeying the 40 km per hour speed limit.

To ensure accurate readings of their surroundings, each car is equipped with 29 cameras. Employees at the headquarters were on standby to take command of the vehicles remotely while safety personnel also sat in the passenger seat ready to push an emergency stop button.

Vehicular autonomy is evaluated on a six-tier scale, with Level 0 representing no autonomy and Level 5 being fully autonomous driving. Nissan's minivans conform with Level 2, or partial automation, in which a vehicle is able to steer and accelerate itself but human intervention is still possible.

Nissan says it intends to run trials around September and October in Yokohama offering rides to members of the public, with further plans to hold tests in three to four regional areas in fiscal 2027.

The company also plans to develop autonomous vehicles at Level 4 automation, in which vehicles perform all tasks under specific circumstances, by fiscal 2027.

The tests are "a first step toward automation that allow us to experience the future," said Kazuhiro Doi, corporate vice president at Nissan's research division.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO