Nissan Motor Company Ltd. has unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show on how they see the future of cars. The Intelligent Driving System incorporates safety and control technologies with artificial intelligence was the carmaker's concept for its autonomous cars.
Presented at the Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan publicized the IDS Concept for its auto-navigating cars. It is an integration of AI and personal knowledge on driving and safety that the carmaker visualizes for the next generation of autonomous vehicles.
Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn deep-rooted that the IDS Concept Car is the first of its kind and that the company hopes will be in many vehicles equipped with autonomous technology by the year 2020.
The IDS Concept comes with a manual drive mode and autopilot mode. To explain, manual mode puts the driver in control of the vehicle but the experience looks like taking control of a game accessory. Although a driver is in control, the car sensors still monitor conditions of the car and the road and will offer assistance like optional routes or a nearby food chain as deemed necessary. The AI system communicates not only to the drivers but also to its passengers, like Siri in a car. It highlights an array of assistance like traffic conditions or an estimated time of arrival to a point of destination.
With a push of a glowing blue Nissan button located at the middle of the steering console, the driver can switch to autopilot, handing over the responsibility to the smart car AI that mimics the driver's driving preferences and style.
In autopilot mode, the steering console locates at the center, all four seats go slightly inward, as for the passengers to easily see and talk with each other. Even the gas pedals sink to the footwall. In manual drive, seats face forward, driver holds the steering console and blue lights illuminate to help with driver's concentration.
The key point to the IDS Concept is all about communication - not only the car communicates with its driver and passengers but also outside the car like pedestrians crossing or a vehicle that passes it by. The IDS AI improves the driver's ability to see, think and react, and the AI compensates for human error, which is 90 percent of the time is the cause of road accidents.
