Nissan Showcases Driver-Assistance System Using Wayve Technology

According to foreign media reports, Nissan Motor announced on September 22 that it has begun testing a new generation of driver assistance system ProPilot that utilizes technology from British autonomous driving company Wayve, with plans to launch the system in Japan in the fiscal year 2027.

Earlier this month, Nissan showcased the system in Tokyo, Japan, using a test vehicle equipped with advanced collision avoidance features in the Ariya electric vehicle. These features are designed to assist drivers while driving on urban roads.

Nissan Ariya; Image source: Nissan

According to reports, the Nissan autonomous driving prototype is equipped with 11 cameras, 5 radars, and 1 lidar sensor, and has L2-level autonomous driving capability, which means that the driver must always be ready to take control of the vehicle and keep their hands on the steering wheel.

Nissan has stated that its latest generation of driver assistance technology will reach the same technical level as Tesla's FSD (Full Self-Driving) system. Although both systems currently belong to Level 2 automated driving (requiring human drivers to be ready to take over at any time), the ProPilot system represents Nissan's cutting-edge technological achievement in competing with Tesla and Waymo in the autonomous driving race.

Nissan's ProPilot system was first launched in 2016, initially featuring lane centering and maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle in front. The second-generation version, introduced in 2019, achieved hands-free driving on highways, while the new generation system, leveraging AI software developed by Wayve, will be able to handle complex urban street scenarios with fewer required cameras and monitoring devices.

Tetsuya Iijima, General Manager of Nissan's Driver Assistance Technology Engineering Division, stated: "We believe that Nissan's next-generation driver assistance system is smarter than Tesla's FSD, but the product has not yet reached the level of refinement."

Nissan announced in April this year that it has partnered with Wayve, marking the first time a major automaker has integrated Wayve's artificial intelligence technology into mass-produced vehicles. This British startup has also identified Japan as its next target market for global expansion and plans to establish a testing center in Yokohama, which will be the company's fourth testing base following the UK, the US, and Germany.

Despite the regulatory barriers faced by assisted driving and autonomous driving technologies in most regions worldwide, the regulatory restrictions in the Japanese market are particularly stringent. According to the current legal system in the country, all vehicles must be continuously supervised by a human driver at this stage.

However, Japan is facing a unique demographic issue, with an aging population and population decline leading to a shortage of taxi drivers, which makes driving assistance technology practical in the country. Therefore, Nissan plans to launch an autonomous vehicle ride-sharing service in 2027. Earlier this year, Toyota has partnered with Waymo to explore new opportunities in the field of autonomous driving software.

Despite the billions of dollars invested globally in the autonomous driving sector, achieving a technological breakthrough for Level 5 (fully autonomous driving) remains a long way off. Nonetheless, Nissan remains optimistic. Tetsuya Iijima stated at a recent prototype test drive event in Tokyo, "The environmental perception capability of the autonomous driving system equipped in this vehicle is close to human levels. I believe this technology will change people's lives."