Driven: NASA and NISSAN Announce 5 Year Partnership For Development of Autonomous Cars
Driven: NASA and NISSAN Announce 5 Year Partnership For Development of Autonomous Cars
US space agency NASA has announced along with automaker Nissan that a 5 year partnership for construction of self driving, zero emission autonomous cars for earth and beyond has been formed between the two.
Ames Research Centre Aims For The Dream Ride
NASA and Nissan will be testing autonomous cars at the US Space Agency’s Ames Research Centre located in Sunnyvale, California. Researchers from NASA will be working with Nissan research unit within the Silicon Valley, as per a joint statement issued by the two. Nissan is already in the process of testing self driven cars in urban environments on their own. Efforts are being made for developing technology to be put to use in passenger vehicles on earth as well as rovers on other planets.“This is a perfect blend of the capability of what the robotics folks at NASA Ames have and the autonomy that we bring,” Maarten Sierhuis, director of Nissan Silicon Valley research centre shared with the media. “The partnership brings together the best and brightest of NASA and Nissan and validates our investments in Silicon Valley,” added Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn. The actual car will be on the road towards the end of 2015.
Reimbursable Umbrella Space Act Agreement
The NASA Ames Research Centre and Nissan North America have signed a Reimbursable Umbrella Space Act Agreement and the primary annex to this agreement. This agreement promotes partnerships in autonomous vehicle systems as well as robotics, human-machine interface and software analysis verification as well as network enabled apps. The first annex to this agreement has initiated cooperative research and development of algorithms as well as concepts and integrated prototypes for autonomous cars.
Both agencies have extensive capability and interest in the development of such self driven vehicles. Ames will be involved in reimbursed design, development, testing and assessment of autonomous vehicles by Nissan. The Ames campus will also be used for testing proof of concept remote operation of autonomous cars for transporting materials, payloads, goods, or humans which NASA will then use for remotely operating planetary rovers from the control centre.
“All of our potential topics of research collaboration with Nissan are areas in which Ames has strongly contributed to major NASA programs,” S. Pete Worden, Director of Ames has been quoted as saying, adding “Ames developed Mars rover planning software, robots onboard the International Space Station and Next Generation air traffic management systems to name a few. We look forward to applying knowledge developed during this partnership toward future space and aeronautics endeavours.”
NASA will benefit from the shared expertise in innovative component technologies for autonomous vehicles as well as access to research and portage systems for development of robotic software. Japanese automaker Nissan will also acquire considerable expertise. The Yokohama based company will be able to branch out using this technology for commercially sold cars as well. NASA will be working with the research unit of Nissan in the Silicon valley. In its most advanced form, this technology can replace human drivers though there are many hurdles to this as of now. Hopefully, research driven approach of the two organisations will soon remove the obstacles.
