Mexican Media Brands
Nissan, NASA and Mars
The NASA Mars Rover Opportunity landed on Mars January 25, 2004.
#electronics
.jpg;width=70;height=70;mode=crop)
Share
The NASA Mars Rover Opportunity landed on Mars January 25, 2004. It was expected to have a three-month mission, rolling around on the Red Planet.
And it is still going.
NASA Image
Its twin, the Spirit, landed on Mars on January 3, 2004. Its last communication with Earth was on March 22, 2010.
Again, somewhat greater longevity than three months.
Clearly, NASA knows more than a little something about autonomous vehicles.
So it isn’t entirely surprising that Nissan North America and NASA are undertaking a five-year R&D partnership focused on autonomous vehicles.
Nissan researchers from its Silicon Valley Research Center will work with those at NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, CA (which is essentially in Silicon Valley).
Among the areas of focus are autonomous drive systems, human-machine interfaces, network-enabled applications, and software analysis and verification.
They’re also looking at remote operation of autonomous vehicles, and expect to have the first vehicle ready for testing by the end of 2015.
Given that the distance between Earth and Mars is 186.8-million miles, chances are good they’re going to have this terrestrial project nailed.
RELATED CONTENT
-
The Koenigsegg Jesko Has An Amazing Engine
It is hard to believe that this is a vehicle in “serial” production with such extraordinary powertrain performance
-
Robotic Exoskeleton Amplifies Human Strength
The Sarcos Guardian XO Max full-body, all-electric exoskeleton features strength amplification of up to 20 to 1, making 200 pounds—the suit’s upper limit—feel like 10 pounds for the user.
-
When Automated Production Turning is the Low-Cost Option
For the right parts, or families of parts, an automated CNC turning cell is simply the least expensive way to produce high-quality parts. Here’s why.
