Nissan: Expect Self-Parking Cars by 2016 (PCMagazine)

BY ANGELA MOSCARITOLO    JULY 17, 2014

Nissan is gearing up to introduce vehicles that can park themselves and give you a break in traffic by 2016.

Parking in a tight spot and driving on crowded highways can be frustrating. But within a few years, Nissan cars will be able to do all the work for you.

The Japanese car maker is gearing up to introduce vehicles that can park themselves and give you a break in traffic by 2016, CEO Carlos Ghosn announcedWednesday during a press conference in Tokyo.

"By the end of 2016, Nissan will make available the next two technologies under its autonomous drive strategy," Ghosn said. "We are bringing to market a traffic-jam pilot, a technology enabling cars to drive autonomously — and safely — on congested highways. In the same timeframe, we will make fully automated parking systems available across a wide range of vehicles."

Two years later, the company plans to introduce vehicles that can change lanes and negotiate roadway hazards automatically. Before the end of the decade, Nissan vehicles will be able to handle intersections without your help.

Nissan's autonomous drive technologies are designed to enhance road safety and driving conditions by automating everyday tasks, Ghosn said. He cautioned, however, that truly self-driving cars, which don't require any human interaction, are still a ways off. With Nissan's new technologies, drivers will still remain in control and at the wheel.

Nissan first said it would explore self-driving car tech in Aug. 2013.

In May, Google showed off a self-driving car prototype that it created itself. The small, Volkswagen Bug-esque vehicle does not have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal, "because they don't need them," Google said. The company plans to build about 100 prototypes with manual controls, which it will test this summer. If that goes well, Google will launch a small pilot program in California in the next few years.

Besides Nissan and Google, a number of other car makers have autonomous vehicles in the works, including Audi, Mercedes, and Toyota.

ANGELA HAS BEEN A PCMAG REPORTER SINCE JANUARY 2012. PRIOR TO JOINING THE TEAM, SHE WORKED AS A REPORTER FOR SC MAGAZINE, COVERING EVERYTHING RELATED TO HACKERS AND COMPUTER SECURITY. ANGELA HAS ALSO WRITTEN FOR THE NORTHERN VALLEY SUBURBANITE IN NEW JERSEY, THE DOMINION POST IN WEST VIRGINIA, AND THE UNIONTOWN-HERALD STANDARD IN PENNSYLVANIA. SHE IS A GRADUATE OF WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY'S PERELY ISAAC REED SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM.