Nissan Tests Driverless Vehicles in Urban Settings
Nissan officials remotely monitor on screens the path and surroundings of the self-driving vehicle being tested on regular roads, so they can step in if problems happen, at Nissan headquarters in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on March 6, 2025.
YOKOHAMA – A self-driving van navigates city streets, slowing for nearby vehicles and pedestrians while its steering wheel turns independently. This technology from Nissan Motor Corp., equipped with an array of cameras, radars, and LiDar sensors, highlights efforts by Japan to advance its autonomous vehicle capabilities.
Japan, home to leading automakers, has yet to match the progress of the U.S. and China in autonomous driving, but this is changing. Waymo plans to begin operations in Japan this year, in partnership with Nihon Kotsu, a prominent taxi company, to manage all-electric Jaguar I-PACE sport-utility vehicles. The initial deployment will be in the Tokyo area although with a human driver present.
During Nissan’s demonstration, the streets were active with regular traffic and pedestrians. The vehicle maintained the local maximum speed limit of 40 kph (25 mph), its route set via a smartphone app. Takeshi Kimura, an engineer at Nissan’s Mobility and AI Laboratory, asserts that automakers are better-suited to integrating self-driving tech within the broader vehicle system.
“How the sensors must be adapted to the car’s movements, or to monitor sensors and computers to ensure reliability and safety requires an understanding of the auto system overall,” Kimura said during a demonstration.
Nissan’s technology, tested on its Serena minivan, currently operates at Level Two, requiring a remote operator and a human driver in the vehicle to intervene if necessary. Nissan intends to deploy 20 such vehicles in the Yokohama area over the next few years, with the goal of achieving Level Four autonomy – eliminating the need for human backup – by 2029 or 2030.
Autonomous vehicles may address the population decline in Japan, including a shortage of drivers. Several other companies in Japan are also pursuing this technology, including startups like Tier IV, which is promoting open-source collaboration in autonomous driving.
Japan has approved Level Four autonomous vehicles in a Fukui Prefecture rural area. Moreover, a Level Four bus operates in a limited zone near Tokyo’s Haneda airport. However, its speed is restricted to 12 kmph (7.5 mph). Nissan’s autonomous vehicle is a standard car designed for normal operating speeds.
Toyota Motor Corp. recently revealed its “city,” a test environment near Mount Fuji for the testing of technology, including autonomous driving applications.
Professor Takeo Igarashi of the University of Tokyo, specializing in computer and information technology, highlights the challenges resulting from public unease about accidents involving driverless vehicles, given the difficulty in assigning responsibility. “In Japan, the expectation for commercial services is very high. The customer expects perfect quality for any service — restaurants or drivers or anything. This kind of auto-driving is a service form a company, and everybody expects high quality and perfection. Even a small mistake is not acceptable,” Igarashi told The Associated Press.
Nissan maintains that its technology is safe, given the car’s ability to process data from multiple sensors simultaneously. During a recent demonstration, a system failure caused the vehicle to come to a safe stop.
Phil Koopman, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University specializing in electrical and computer engineering, believes that the autonomous vehicle industry is still in its early stages. The main problem lies in “edge cases,” which are rare but potentially hazardous situations that the autonomous system has not been trained for.
“We will see cities require special engineering efforts and the creation of a special remote support center. This will be a city-by-city deployment for many years,” Koopman said. “There is no magic switch.”
