Nissan has recently announced they have partnered up with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), and Topy Industries in a joint project that aims to make deep sea exploration better. The Japanese carmaker is providing its Around View Monitor (AVM) technology that will be featured into the unmanned robots exploring the oceans.
Topy is one of the top manufacturers of robot crawlers in Japan and is also the company in charge of developing the unmanned vehicle currently exploring the deep sea floors. Along with Nissan’s technology, researchers claim the government agency’s ability to search deep underwater for natural resources using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) will be enhanced. ROV operators will be able to avoid obstacles and navigate more easily, thus becoming more efficient.
Nissan’s Around View Monitor technology was introduced on the Japanese automaker’s cars in 2007. AVM provides a virtual 360-degree overview of a vehicle from a bird’s-eye view as pictured from above. As you probably know by now, the technology helps drivers visually confirm the auto’s position relative to parking spaces and adjacent objects and maneuver into parking spots more easily.
In fact, the Japanese carmaker is planning to use this technology as one of the basic features Nissan’s autonomous vehicles will integrate, models that will reach the market in 2020. Leaf’s creator is claiming the use of AVM technology undersea environments is an extension of the autonomous drive technology that the company is currently developing to enhance the driving experience.
To be honest, we find Nissan’s decision quite admirable, especially that corporations of this size obviously can afford it. We can only hope the technology will somehow be used in the ocean’s safeguard itself, and not just for discovering new resources.
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