Renault-Nissan Alliance Opens New Silicon Valley Research Center

Automakers Nissan and Renault formed an alliance called the Renault-Nissan Alliance and opened a US research center in 2011. The two automakers have now announced that they have expanded their presence in Silicon Valley with the opening of a new advanced research center. The automakers say that initially the new research center will focus on autonomous driving and connected cars.

Autonomous driving is a big area of interest for many automakers and technology companies around the world. Google is one of the biggest companies in the autonomous driving arena and has perhaps the largest fleet of self-driving vehicles in the world. Autonomous vehicles are able to operate themselves with no input from a human using GPS and an array of sensors.

The new facility that Renault and Nissan are opening is called the Nissan Research Center Silicon Valley. Nissan says that the new center will enhance its global research capability via collaborative partnerships with companies and research institutions. Nissan says that the goal of the research center with autonomous vehicles is to realize the future with safe and stress-free mobility.

Nissan also lists goals of researching connected vehicles to allow them to tap into infrastructure and the Internet to maximize energy and efficiency. Nissan also wants to research the area of the human machine interface to enhance the experience of autonomous and connected vehicles for drivers. The research center will also participate in planning and advanced development of connected vehicle services and designing of user interface systems that are complementary to the research center's main goals.

[via Nissan]