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Nissan Reveals Autonomous Drive, Electric IDS Concept Vehicle

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Last night at the Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan revealed where the company believes the current electric vehicle and autonomous driving trends are headed with the Nissan IDS Concept.

The IDS represents an altered way to experience driving.

Firstly, the IDS is a zero-emission electric car, and is equipped with a high-capacity 60 kWh battery. This is a step toward Nissan’s current zero-emissions strategy, which is to advance battery-powered EV technology until EVs meet or surpass the convenience of gasoline power, and to produce the legendary “two zeroes”—zero fatalities and zero emissions.

More importantly, though, the IDS concept incorporates aspects of Nissan Intelligent Driving, or, put more simply, autonomous driving technology, which Nissan intends to place in its vehicles by 2020.

To this end, the IDS has two driving modes. The first is Piloted Drive—while in this mode, the car takes over driving (while imitating the driver’s driving style).

Nissan IDS Concept

The dashboard shows large screens, allowing the driver to access the internet, be it for social media, checking appointments, joining a video conference, or simply relaxing. The seats automatically turn toward each other to facilitate conversation, and the area where the steering wheel is normally is replaced by an iPad-like screen.

The other mode is Manual Drive mode.

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In this mode, the screens recede into the dashboard and out folds the steering wheel (or, rather, steering handles). On the windshield appears a heads-up display showing the route and other driving information. Meanwhile, sensors continually monitor conditions, ready to render assistance in the event of an emergency.

Speaking of, in Piloted Drive mode, exterior sensors follow the movements of pedestrians near the car and make it act as perhaps the most polite car in history.

Nissan IDS Concept

Overall, this is an interesting and somewhat realistic glimpse of where vehicles and driving will be headed in the next several decades.

Nissan IDS Concept Images: