TOKYO (Reuters) -Nissan Motor said on Monday it has started testing a new driver-assistance system that uses technology from British startup Wayve, ahead of a planned launch in Japan in the 2027 financial year.
The Japanese automaker demonstrated the system in Tokyo earlier this month using Ariya electric vehicles equipped with advanced collision avoidance features designed to assist drivers in urban areas.
City streets pose greater challenges for driver assistance systems than highways, due to the presence of pedestrians, parked vehicles and delivery workers.
The prototype vehicles are equipped with 11 cameras, five radars and one lidar sensor, and offer Level 2 autonomous driving capabilities, which require drivers to be ready to take over with hands on the wheel.
Wayve, which has received funding from SoftBank Group and Nvidia, opened a testing and development centre in Japan earlier this year.
Nissan launched its ProPilot system in 2016 and rolled out a second-generation version in 2019 to assist with highway driving.
It has not yet disclosed which models will be equipped with the next-generation system.
(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
