When a Nissan minivan equipped with autonomous driving technology successfully navigated the streets of Yokohama, Japan, during a test earlier this month, it was a celebratory milestone for Liam Pedersen, chief scientist at Nissan’s Advanced Technology Center in Silicon Valley.
Pedersen, along with a team of 15 U.S.-based researchers, have worked alongside colleagues in Japan since 2013, developing the technology behind the automaker’s autonomous driving system. The test vehicle equipped with the latest generation of Nissan’s AV hardware and software traversed “a public road in a complex urban environment” without a safety driver onboard, according to a March 9 press release.
“This project is the culmination of a dozen years of collaboration across the Pacific,” Pedersen wrote in an email to Automotive Dive.
Pederson and his Silicon Valley team have focused on software technology, including creating AI algorithms, for Nissan.
“It is immensely satisfying to see the real-world results of everyone’s work,” Pedersen said. “Our technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and we’re excited to be a pioneer in the autonomous driving space.”
Nissan said the reveal of its latest generation autonomous technology advances its effort to address transportation challenges in communities dealing with driver shortages and an aging population.
The automaker began demonstrating and testing its autonomous technology in fiscal year 2017, per the release. Nissan’s next test phase will involve 20 autonomous vehicles in Yokohama during its 2025 and 2026 fiscal years, with a goal of providing autonomous mobility services by 2027 using remote human supervision.
The latest test vehicles are based on the Nissan Serena, which is one of Japan’s best selling minivans. The vehicles are equipped with 14 cameras, nine radars and six lidar sensors, which safely traveled the streets of Yokohama’s busy Minato Mirai central business district.
But reaching the latest system’s generation took years of research, Pedersen said.
Early versions of the lidar sensors were tested in San Francisco on a 2019 Nissan Leaf EV. An updated AV system using cameras and radars was installed on an Ariya SUV and began testing in 2023.
Pedersen said that both test vehicles can still be regularly seen on roads near his office.
“Both projects have allowed us to make huge advancements in our autonomous drive technology’s ability to perceive, predict, make decisions and plan,” he said.
Nissan’s Silicon Valley team’s research wasn’t limited to spending time in front of computers in the U.S. Pedersen said researchers were hands on, taking test rides and making multiple trips to Japan, delivering code and the test vehicles to their overseas colleagues.
While Pedersen and his team members have seen how years of research and testing resulted in successful deployment of autonomous technology on public roads, they recognize their work has other applications.
“Autonomous drive tech is demanded by more car shoppers than ever, and Nissan is committed to meeting that need,” he said. “Nissan will continue to develop ADAS systems that help enhance safety, ease driver stress and relieve traffic congestion.”
