Nissan shows off bumblebee-inspired, crash-avoiding robot "car"

Nissan's already hard at work on some crash-avoidance systems for regular, human-driven cars, but it looks like it's not stopping there, with it now also showing off its BR23C robotic "car," which apparently takes its inspiration from the humble bumblebee. That comes in the form of the BR23C's laser range finder (or LRF), which acts like a bee's compound eye to detect obstacles up to two meters away within a 180-degree radius. When combined with the slightly mysterious crash avoidance system, that apparently lets the car react "instinctively" the split second it detects an obstacle and maneuver accordingly. Of course, as you can see above, Nissan doesn't seem to be quite ready to test the system with any human passengers just yet, but the company has some big plans for the future, with it aiming to cut its rate of car crashes in half by 2015 compared to its stats from 1995.

[Via Autoblog]

[uwaga dude Posted Sep 29th 2008 3:31PM]

looks like R2D2

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2008 4:02PM]

Um... not really.

[Stereotype Posted Sep 29th 2008 5:10PM]

Have you ever even watched Star Wars? Probably not...

[daniel80 Posted Sep 29th 2008 3:32PM]

Looks like a very expensive tissue box.

[Whyte Posted Sep 29th 2008 3:33PM]

i would crash into that.... thing.. on purpose. it´s hideous!

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2008 3:59PM]

Precisely the reason why the BR23C will decide the single best way to prevent automobile crashes is to KILL ALL HUMANS.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2008 3:44PM]

It reminds me of Robot 1-X from Futurama

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2008 4:05PM]

Agreed.

Or maybe the bad guys from "The Black Hole" - you know... if they were white and shaped a little differently. Okay, not so much, but it still definitely doesn't look like frickin' R2-D2, I'll tell you that.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2008 3:54PM]

Does that mean you could just sit back and enjoy the ride...like a bus?

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2008 4:14PM]

Or like shrooms.

[Digiboi Posted Sep 29th 2008 4:56PM]

Except that unlike that bus thing - it would go straight to your destination without stopping every block.

Binge drinkers rejoice!

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2008 4:13PM]

This thing would kill people trying to hug it during rush hour.

[elmo61 Posted Sep 29th 2008 4:21PM]

this looks very cool

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2008 4:44PM]

...but Bumblebee was a Chevy.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2008 5:57PM]

Is that you Robot 1-X?

[Jamma Posted Sep 29th 2008 7:15PM]

with this and hoverboards, 2015 will be a good year for transport

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2008 9:10PM]

What an, uhhh, exotic concept

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 29th 2008 10:59PM]

It's like my own little robot!

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 30th 2008 1:59AM]

"up to two meters"? That's a typo, right?

[Cupajoe Posted Sep 30th 2008 4:55AM]

Where... where do the people go?