In May 2019, Nissan announced its plan to equip the new Skyline with its next-gen driver assistance system. Launching in the Japanese market, it will be the first of its kind globally. Here’s everything you need to know about the Japanese manufacturer’s latest developments and what this means for the future of Nissan cars.
ProPilot is Nissan’s revolutionary technology system, designed to significantly reduce driver stress when driving in various traffic conditions. Developed to make long drives - particularly those on motorways and during long commutes - more comfortable and enjoyable for Nissan drivers, ProPilot allows steering, acceleration and braking to be operated in full automatic mode. Using precise image-processing technology, the ProPilot system takes the stress out of driving, allowing the car to maintain speed, follow, steer and stop when needed.
The latest update to ProPilot will expand on the current award-winning system. The new technological updates will allow the system to offer navigated highway driving by engaging with the vehicle’s navigation system. This means it will be able to manoeuvre the vehicle according to a predefined route on designated roads. It will also enable hands off single lane driving for the first time ever.
While not quite a fully self-driving vehicle, ProPilot 2.0 is an important development in the move towards the self-driving cars of the future. While cruising in a single lane, Nissan drivers with ProPilot 2.0 will be able to enjoy hands off driving until a passing move or diversion is needed. When approaching a road divide or getting close to a slower moving vehicle, ProPilot 2.0 is able to judge the appropriate timing of branching off or passing by using 360-degree sensing and information from the navigation system. When this happens, the driver will be prompted to put both hands back on the wheel and confirm the start of the appropriate actions with a switch.
Hands off driving isn’t the only new feature to be added with the ProPilot 2.0 system. Nissan’s latest technology updates will also allow cars fitted with ProPilot 2.0 to activate the navigated driving system on entering a highway. On doing so, the system will then assist the driver with passing, lane diversions and lane exiting while travelling on a multi-lane road until reaching the exit. The ProPilot 2.0 system uses a combination of information input methods to provide 360-degree updates on the vehicle’s surroundings at all times. These include cameras, radars, sonars, GPS and 3D high-definition map data (HD map). A monitoring system also checks that the driver’s attention is on the road.
The ProPilot 2.0 announcement comes shortly after the Japanese manufacturer revealed its plans to release its first batch of autonomous cars by 2020. With plans to add the self-driving technology to several of its upcoming launches, Nissan isn’t restricting itself to a single self-driving model. The system will be debuted on the Nissan Skyline in Japan this autumn, and marks the start of a very exciting future for Nissan vehicles.