Nissan is testing its self-driving vehicles on European streets for the first time, with a rollout begun Monday in London. The tests, reported by Reuters, involved modified Nissan Leaf electric vehicles equipped with a range of sensors and onboard computing power, going as fast as 50 miles per-hour, and transitioning between small local roads and larger, multi-lane thoroughfares.
London was selected as the site of the first European tests because of the city’s fairly open attitude towards autonomous technology testing, Reuters reports. London’s TFL and police services are working closely with Nissan on the test, meaning the automaker has to give those agencies a head up regarding its test routes, and maintain a complete log of outings for full disclosure to the public authorities.
Nissan’s testing efforts have already been underway both in Tokyo and in Silicon Valley. The company has been working on its driverless tech for a while now, and we’ve heard that they’re sourcing tech and talent from a variety of sources to make sure their efforts stand out from the crowd, including NASA.