Nissan looks from on high

Nissan's backroom boys and girls have come up with a system that makes reversing cameras and parking sonar a thing of the past. Dubbed Around View Monitor, the system uses a quartet of cameras and powerful image processing software to render a God's-eye view of the vehicle in its surroundings.

Using live feeds from the wide-angle cameras positioned around the car, the computer renders an image of the vehicle as if viewed from directly above. The view is then displayed on a central screen just like a reversing camera.

Nissan politically correctly terms it a bird's-eye view, though military strategists have for years preferred the deity reference. Whatever you call it, the system provides real-time visual information that makes parking -- and detecting children, pets and the like near the car -- easier.

According to Nissan's Junichi Kobayashi, AVM will soon be available on a range of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles (it is already fitted to the MY2008 EX crossover and will be on the FX when it is launched). Already offered as optional equipment on Japanese market peoplemovers such as the Vito-sized Elgrand, AVM costs Yen 130,000 -- around $1400. Given Japan's notoriously tight and heavily trafficked roads, it's not surprising more than 50 per cent of Elgrand buyers are opting for the system.

AVM was demonstrated as part of the company's technical workshops at the recent Nissan 360 event in Portugal. Also on display was a modified version of Nissan's Murano, which in fact showcased the carmaker's progress on X By-Wire systems.

Encompassing steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire and shift-by-wire subsystems, X By-Wire has the potential to offer significant packaging advancements. As demonstrated via the Murano mule, X By-Wire negates the need to have mechanical connections between the steering wheel and steering system, the brake pedal and the brake system -- and so on.

In the case of Kobayashi-san's Murano this allows significantly revised dimensions including a shorter front overhang and a longer wheelbase. This in turn creates the opportunity to turn the Murano into a three-row vehicle without any increase in length or loss of usable legroom.

X By-Wire also has the potential to deliver different driving characteristics for different conditions. Think PlayStation ForceFeedBack steering wheel and you'll get the idea!

Kobayashi told the Carsales Network that there is no clear timeline to implement X By-Wire technology into Nissan production cars but confirmed engineering development continues. The necessity of installing redundant systems (as per airliners, for instance) currently means the scope of X By-Wire technology is limited by expense, he said.

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