Nissan is to give robo-vehicles a public try-out in Japan next month.
The test will run on a set route between Nissan’s global headquarters in Yokohama and the nearby Yokohama World Porters shopping centre – a distance of some 4.5 kilometres (circa 2.7 miles) – and the service, dubbed ‘Easy Ride’, will provide an autonomous vehicle service to people wanting to get to a destination in that area.
Not only will vehicles be tested but Nissan’s dedicated mobile app will also be put through its paces. Passengers will be able to input where they want to go via text or voice. In addition, an in-car tablet will showcase some 500 nearby points of interest, along with 40 discount vouchers for retailers and restaurants in the vicinity. These can then be downloaded directly to the passenger’s smartphone.
Easy Ride is seen as a mobility service for anyone wanting to travel freely in a robo-vehicle to a destination of their choice.
The trial, which starts on March 5 and is being conducted by Nissan with mobile and online services operator DeNA, will gauge public reaction. If successful, the aim is to expand on the number of service routes. Though planned to be introduced in a limited area initially, Nissan and DeNA aim to offer a full service ‘in the early 2020s’.
The trial appears to use current Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 vehicles. Both are all-electric, so provide the perfect zero-emissions platform for an autonomous service. The Leaf has a claimed all-electric range of up to 177 miles, meaning it’s capable of travelling far enough on a single charge for numerous short, inner-city trips.