Nissan ProPILOT 2.0 to launch in Japan with HANDS-OFF Driving

Nissan is launching Pro-PILOT 2.0 in Japan this year on the Skyline, offering hands-free driving under certain circumstances as autonomous driving advances.

Many of us have come across smart cruise systems in cars which allow a degree of control to be handed over to the car’s autonomous systems, but despite these advances allowing speed control, and even some lane-change ability, you still need your hands on the wheel.

But now Nissan are about to launch the new ProPILOT 2.0 in Japan this year, and it promises to offer proper hands-off driving, albeit under very defined conditions.

Nissan are going to offer the new system on the Skyline (that’s the Infiniti Q50 to the rest of us) from this Autumn, and it will be able to drive for you on motorways and not compel you to keep your hands on the wheel.

For now, the new ProPILOT is offering ‘ramp to ramp’ autonomous driving in a single lane, which means it works on defined motorways from when you get on to when you get off as long as you’ve pre-defined your route in the Sat Nav first and prodded the right button.

If you want to overtake the system can do it for you, but you have to tell it that’s what you want and put your hands on the wheel first. But the car will do the actual driving.

The system is full of bongs and lights to keep the driver aware and responding, and it’s a long way from fully autonomous driving. But it’s another step on the path.