Nissan introduces self-driving tow car

Self-driving cars and electric vehicles are just some of the things that we often hear nowadays. With that in mind, Nissan introduced yet another technology called Intelligent Vehicle Towing (IVT). In simpler terms – Nissan is telling us that they’ve come up with a self-driving towing car. 

The Japanese automaker used a modified Nissan LEAF to autonomously tow trollies that are loaded with vehicles and transport it between designated areas at its Oppama plant. Unlike the usual Automated Guided Vehicle, a mobile robot that follows markers in the floor for navigation and transport materials around the plant, the IVT or the self-driving towing car is equipped cameras and laser scanners.

The cameras and laser scanners are the IVT’s one-two punch combination as these detect lane markings, curbs, and obstacles. With this, it has the capability to calculate its location by cross-referencing the information on the map data to be able to reach the destination unaided.

Nissan added that the data gathered through its self-driving towing car would enable them to expand their knowledge about autonomous driving tech.