Nissan's crash-avoiding robot 'car' gets upgrade, fresh new outlook on life
By Donald Melanson 
posted Oct 2nd 2009 12:03AM
posted Oct 2nd 2009 12:03AM
Last we saw Nissan's crash-avoiding BR23C robot "car," it was rolling along all by its lonesone, taking cues from the humble bumblebee in order to survive in the wilds of CEATEC Japan. Well, it's almost time for CEATEC yet again, and it looks like Nissan has seen fit to give our robot buddy a new bag of tricks, and a proper name: Eporo. Perhaps the biggest news, however, is that it now models itself on fish, which not only gives it greater peripheral vision (courtesy of a pair of laser range finders) to avoid obstacles, but lets it travel in packs similar to a school of fish. The idea there being that these could one day carry passengers and stick close together to reduce congestion on city streets and, in turn, cut down on the number of accidents.
Nice "ride"
Ummm it is quite obvious those aren't really cars. They are tiny robots to test and perfect systems that will be used in bigger models. You can simulate physical interaction in lots of scenarios much better with a tiny robot than starting from scratch with something full scale. They just look like that for demonstration purposes only.
No, these robots will be used as a removable headlights in full size vehicles. But when it becomes aware, it will purposely run cars to each other with humans in them.
I thought it would be more like your droid sits in a compartment on the vehicle, to help with navigation and control. Kind of like R2D2?
Not that anyone cares what I say, but the restaurant is at the *other* end of the Universe.
Men who run behind cars get exhausted
men who run in front get tired
Man who stand on toilet high on pot.
Am I the only one who thinks this looks like the Bloopers from Mario?
first stack parking... now stack driving?
why not stick everything on tracks. and stack the tracks.
Why couldn't they have installed this in the Nissan Micra that some idiot woman crashed into me the other week... Gah!
I want a tiny little mechanical pet ghost. Can I please have one of these?
The army of robotic warriors marched down the street with laz0rs firing and flamethrowers burning.
Can anyone tell my why cars don't already drive themselves?
That would be "tell ME why". Sorry.
Looks like a 2009 version of the Furby.
lonesone?