Nissan is putting its self-driving technology to work at its Oppama Plant with a pair of Leafs that are outfitted to tow other cars, all on their own.
The two specially modified Leafs are tasked with towing about 30 completed vehicles each day from the plant site to a shipping port, less than a mile away. Each Leaf makes five trips a day on average, pulling three cars at a time.
Each Leaf uses a combination of cameras, laser scanners and pre-loaded map data to safely travel the route with no extra infrastructure needed. Typical shuttle systems like this require either rails or magnetic tape to guide the trollies. This also means that the towing route can be altered on the fly thanks to the central traffic control system which monitors each car’s location, speed, battery life and operational status. If the two self-driving cars were to meet at an intersection it is this brain that will decide which one will go first.
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So far, more than 1,600 test runs have taken place at the plant, with Nissan considering spreading the technology to more of its plants around the world.
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