Automaker Nissan has successfully test-driven its all-electric, driverless car at NASA’s Ames Research Centre in California. These cars are the kind that will be going to people’s houses, where many consumers will need to install charging ports (like those seen if you visit company website here) to ensure proper operation. To ensure proper safety is in place for those consumers, Nissan’s all-electric LEAF performed safe autonomous drives across the Ames centre. The Nissan LEAF vehicle is equipped with cameras, sensors and cellular data networking. It uses robotics software originally developed for Ames’ K-10 and K-REX planetary rovers to operate autonomously.

Last year, the US space agency and the automaker Nissan announced a five-year partnership to build self-driving, zero-emission autonomous cars for earth- and eventually space. The partnership allows researchers to develop and test autonomy algorithms, concepts and integrated prototypes for a variety of vehicular transport applications. Nissan is already testing cars that can navigate urban environments on their own. The effort can develop technology that will be put to use in passenger vehicles here on Earth and rovers on planets.

Nissan

• Nissan is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan.
• Since 1999, Nissan has been part of the Renault–Nissan Alliance, a partnership between Nissan and French automaker Renault.
• Masujiro Hashimoto founded the Kwaishinsha Motor Car Works in 1911. In 1914, the company produced its first car, called DAT.
• In 2001, Nissan established a manufacturing plant in Brazil. In 2005, Nissan added operations in India, through its subsidiary Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd