The Japanese carmaker is providing its unique AVM technology to the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and Topy Industries in a joint development project that could uncover some of the ocean’s mysteries.
The joint development contract with JAMSTEC and Topy is one of the top manufacturers of robot crawlers in Japan and will to enhance the government agency's ability to search for natural resources deep underwater with the ROVs.
This project exemplifies how AVM know-how is being put to practical use in complex operating environments and is among the Japanese Cabinet office's Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), which aims to realise innovation through the promotion of research & development activities across government ministries.
Nissan’s AVM system is actually one of the base technologies for Nissan's autonomous drive vehicles, which the company aims to bring to market by 2020.
The innovative safety system can be found on Nissan's entire crossover range including the new Juke, Qashqai and X-Trail.
First commercialised in 2007, AVM provides a virtual 360-degree overview of a car from a bird's-eye view as pictured from above.
Nissan added Moving Object Detection (MOD) technology to AVM in 2011 and continues to develop other associated safety technologies.
The ROVs being tested by JAMSTEC and Topy include a version of Nissan’s AVM which features a three-dimensional (3D) picture processing capability and is combined with the ROV's camera to improve measurement of distances on the ocean floor.
Operators controlling the ROVs aboard mother ships at sea get an overhead real-time bird's-eye view of the remote vehicle and its immediate surroundings.
The goal is to improve the efficiency of undersea searches by avoiding obstacles on the seabed with better real-time situational awareness.
Nissan’s AVM (non-3D version) is currently found in the new Juke, Qashqai and the X-Trail.
