CES 2017: Nissan Intelligent Mobility blueprint hints at zero-emissions and a zero-fatality future

At the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas, Nissan Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn announced a couple of new technologies and partnerships detailing the Nissan Intelligent Mobility blueprint that hints at how the cars are driven, powered and better integrated into the wider society.“At Nissan, from the beginning, we work to bring the right technologies for the full spectrum of our vehicles and the most amount of people,” Ghosn said in his keynote. “This takes more than innovation. It takes ingenuity. And it’s exactly what we deliver through Nissan Intelligent Mobility.”Ghosn first announced a technology called Seamless Autonomous Mobility (SAM). It was developed using technology from NASA with the objective of helping autonomous vehicles make better decisions in unpredictable scenarios. SAM uses in-vehicle AI along with human support to help make these decisions.Nissan and Japanese internet company DeNA will begin tests aimed at developing driverless vehicles for commercial services for which the first phase of testing begins this year, with wider testing expected to begin by 2020.On stage, Ghosn also announced the company's plans to launch a new Nissan LEAF. The new version of the electric vehicle is expected to pack-in ProPILOT technology that should allow for autonomous drive functionality, but for single lane highway driving.Since the announcements were related to autonomous cars, connected cars were certainly a part of the mix. Nissan announced that the Renault-Nissan Alliance will continue to partner with Microsoft to further its next generation of connected car tech. What this means is that Cortana is coming to your car and she is expected to make your driving experience seamless and efficient.The automaker also announced a new partnership with 100 Resilient Cities (100 RC) which is a non-profit working to help cities build resilience to physical, social, and economic challenges.“We invite others to join us, as well, from tech partners to e-commerce companies, ride-hailing and car-sharing platforms, and social entrepreneurs who can help us to test and develop new vehicles and services, and make sure everyone has access to the latest technologies and services that bring value to their lives,” said Ghosn.