As is becoming increasingly clear, Nissan seems to be intent on having cars do everything short of drive themselves, and it's now taking yet another step in that direction with a proposed system that would prevent drivers from going the wrong way. While it's all still in the planning stages at the moment, the system would apparently make use of a cellular-connected GPS unit that would not only be able to be able to warn the driver if they're headed into the wrong lane, but alert them if they should be slowing down on a downhill stretch, or if they're approaching an area prone to congestion.

There's not much else in the way of details just yet, unfortunately, but Nissan has apparently enlisted the help of the West Nippon Expressway Co. (or West NEXCO), and it's promising to demo the system for the press as soon as they have something ready. The R&D is for an "IT-assisted road information system." As is becoming de rigeur these days, it uses your cell phone to detect situations in which a warning might be needed before a dangerous situation. The GPS component would come into play in a wrong-ramp situation, while telematics could be used to warn drivers of long downhill stretches. The efforts join Nissan's bumblebee-and-crash-avoidance research aimed at halving incidents in Nissan vehicles. Hit the jump for the press release.


PRESS RELEASE January 26, 2009 West NEXCO and Nissan Begin Joint Research on IT-Assisted Road Information System - Research Alliance to Build a System for Accident Prevention and Road Information - West Nippon Expressway Co., Ltd. (West NEXCO) and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced a cooperative effort to research systems to help prevent accidents and furnish road information to drivers. West NEXCO, which operates expressways in western Japan, and Nissan will enhance and complement existing information systems using information technology (IT) to provide road and traffic condition information to help improve safety and driving comfort on expressways.

The joint project will take advantage of the widespread use and multi-functionality of today's cellular phones. The system will use the Global Positioning System (GPS) and a detailed map database to warn drivers about a number of potentially dangerous situations and conditions - including driving the wrong way on expressway ramps, which frequently causes serious accidents. Responding to frequent occurrences of wrong-way driving with the increase in senior citizen drivers, West NEXCO set up a project team in May 2008 to address this issue as it considered the possibility of joint research with automakers and others using information technology.

The IT-assisted road information system will also employ telematics to help warn drivers about unintended speed changes on ramps and long downhill stretches to help prevent accidents and congestion. Nissan and West NEXCO will also undertake research to assist drivers with probe data on traffic jams, part of West NEXCO's goal of working to help establish total road safety and comfort. For its part, Nissan has been working extensively with its Intelligent Transportation Systems to halve the number of fatal and injury accidents involving Nissan cars between 1995 and 2015.

Through its SKY project it is developing a vehicle communication system linked with traffic infrastructure to help reduce accidents at intersections. Nissan has been conducting large-scale testing of an information system that furnishes drivers with information on pedestrians using communications between vehicles and GPS cell phones held by pedestrians. It has also established a service that warns drivers of icy conditions ahead. An outline of the joint research project follows: Joint R&D Using GPS A new computer application and detailed map data in the car navigation system will be combined with GPS data to help give the driver audio and visual warnings when the car is going the wrong way on a ramp near a service area or interchange.

Joint R&D Using Telematics Text warnings will appear on the car's navigation display: "Beware of speeding" on long downhill stretches where accidents are common, and "Beware of slowing" near ramps prone to congestion. Driver Assistance Using Probe Data Probe data from road-control centers will be better utilized to provide value-added information to vehicles on expressways. Press Demonstration on Wrong-Way Driving Detection Using GPS and Car Navigation System The team will conduct experiments to test detection and reporting of wrong-way driving by reprogramming the existing Nissan navigation system and simulating driving the wrong way on a rest-area exit ramp.

The experiment will also be open to the press, along with a driving demonstration. The details will be informed later.