Autonomous cars are coming. There is no denying it. NissanNissanJapan, 1932 > present159 models
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and Mercedes-BenzMercedes-BenzGermany, 1924 > present197 models
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have already announced that they will have autonomous cars on the road by 2020. FordFordUnited States of America, 1903 > present92 models
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11 videos
says that its autonomous tech will be on sale by 2025. One more name to the list is RenaultRenaultFrance, 1898 > present189 models
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.

The French automaker, which owns Nissan, is working on a test with its ZoeRenault ZoeFrance, 2012 > present7 photos
EV that can drive autonomously as speeds up to 20mph. At these low speeds, the car is fully autonomous, and the driver must not pay any attention to the road. The driver can take over control at any time by moving the steering wheel.

The tech on the Zoe uses a network of existing sensors, GPS, a forward-facing camera, forward-facing radar and ultrasonic sensors in the bumper. The software stitches together the signals to know what is coming ahead.

It thinks that it can have a consumer version of the technology ready by late 2014.

The next step in the technology will for cars to be able to park itself without the driver in the car. Renault is working with the French government to begin tests of the technology.

It is also evaluating car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure technology that allows cars to communicate with their environment.

It appears that at the moment, Renault and Nissan are not collaborating on autonomous technology. Nissan has been testing an autonomous LeafNissan LEAFJapan, 2009 > present29 versions
45 photos
1 video
on public roads in Japan.

Nissan Completes First Autonomous Test of Leaf in Japan

Source: Autocar