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It sounds like science fiction. You program an app on your Smartphone and your car leaves its parking space at a predetermined time and drives to your front door before taking you to your destination. All by itself.
You can sit back and read, work, phone a friend or use the on-board high speed internet to catch up on the TV programme you’ve missed while your car does all the hard work. It’s safe, stress free and saves time and fuel… but it’s not science fiction – it’s science fact.
Renault believes that by the year 2020 autonomous cars – cars that drive themselves – will be commonplace.
An initiative by the French Government called The New Face of Industry in France proposes development plans for 34 industry sectors. Carlos Ghosn, Renault’s CEO, has been given responsibility for implementing a roadmap for autonomous cars.
The first phase in Renault’s plans for the future is the NEXT TWO, which is based on an all-electric Renault ZOE. NEXT TWO is a project to develop an affordable autonomous car in which certain driving functions are handed over to the vehicle itself. Cameras, a forward-facing sensor and an ultrasound field around the vehicle together form a protective ‘bubble’ to safeguard its occupants.
Data received from the sensor and camera is sent to a central control unit which, in turn, communicates with the power steering, motor and brakes to ensure the car keeps up with the flow of traffic, braking when needed and following the correct path at all times.
At the moment autonomous driving can only take place under specific conditions with the vehicle on a ‘protected route’ where there are no pedestrians or cyclists and moving at less than 30kph.
But, believes project chief Frédéric Mathis, it won’t be that long before autonomous cars can do much more by themselves. “NEXT TWO is a realistic prototype which incorporates technologies that are sufficiently well-developed to be built into production models in the medium-term future,” he said.
Discover more about this fascinating project by watching this special video below.
See the press kit here
To watch Renault-Nissan Alliance CEO and Chairman, Carlos Ghosn, test Renault’s autonomous vehicle prototype NEXT TWO, click here