We have previously written about the concept of autonomous vehicles and when we are expecting to see them on UK roads. Recently, it has been released that Nissan is testing their autonomous prototype vehicle called “Leaf” in London. Nissan plans to test all of their efforts by clocking up a total of 300 miles throughout London’s most hectic areas.

This is fuelling the hopes that within of the next few years we will see advances towards full autonomy. There will be specific sections of motorways where the car is able to take complete control and allow drivers to sit back and relax. Cars are suggested to be able to build a picture of the road environment ahead. Therefore, the car should be able to safely steer, brake and accelerate without human input.

Nissan is aiming to introduce a completed version by the year 2020. The prototype comes equipped with 12 cameras, five radars and six lasers to help the vehicle to identify oncoming obstacles and secure the safety of the passengers.

The global head of autonomous driving at Nissan, Tetsuya Iijima has carried out one of the vehicle tests and has stated that the cars that could be released in 2020 may have some limitations. In busy areas, it is stated that people would have to be careful, as the car “is not perfect”. Nissan’s main objective for creating such a vehicle is the safety of drivers. Approximately 93% of accidents are caused by the actions of a driver. If a self-driving vehicle replaces human input that this figure could be greatly reduced.

How long do you think it will take for us to see autonomous cars fully integrated onto UK roads? Would you want to use a driverless car anytime soon?

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