The Nissan autonomous vehicle that can draw a soccer pitch

Tuesday, 29 May 2018

The Pitch-R uses Nissan's autonomous tech to draw a soccer pitch anywhere there is space.

If you are a soccer fan (and there are one of two of you out there) this new Nissan could be for you.

No, it's not a Leaf painted like a soccer ball, it is actually an autonomous robot that can draw soccer fields wherever there is space

Nissan has been testing the next generation of ProPILOT using an Infiniti Q50 fitted out with a lot of high-tech gear.

Nissan unveiled Pitch-R (the robot's name) at the 2018 UEFA Champion's League final in Kiev recently and says that it is 'inspired' by the company's advanced ProPilot driver assistance technology.

ProPilot - available on the new Leaf and the European market Qashqai - is Nissan's adaptive cruise control and lane assist system that is being drastically expanded by the company, with next-generations systems featuring more autonomous modes by 2020.

* Nissan makes a Leaf convertible. What next?

* Self-driving slippers that park themselves

* The five levels of autonomous driving**

Nissan has been testing the next-gen system using a modified Infiniti Q50 in Japan, with the prototype's artificial intelligence using inputs from 12 cameras, nine millimeter-wave radars, six laser scanners, 12 sonars and a high-definition map to analyse complex scenarios in real time and navigate smoothly through challenging city conditions – such as crossing busy intersections.

The system is a key part of Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the company's vision for changing how cars are driven, powered and integrated into society.

But back to the cute soccer robot - Pitch-R features a four-camera vision system, GPS location tracking and collision avoidance systems and Nissan say it can draw white lines on grass, tarmac or gravel with eco-friendly dissolvable paint.

The robot is powered by a rechargeable battery pack and moves autonomously to analyse its surroundings in real time to find a suitable space. Nissan claims that uneven surfaces do not present a problem for Pitch-R, and it can navigate around obstacles. Although that may not make for the straightest soccer pitch ever.

Pitch-R can create fields for five-a-side, seven-a-side or 11-a-side teams and the whole process can take less than 20 minutes.

According to Nissan's bold claim, the result is a 'perfect, professional-standard soccer field that would pass a UEFA inspection if Liverpool F.C. and Real Madrid C.F. were to turn up.'

Nissan say that Pitch-R is the first in a series of advanced prototypes being developed using Nissan Intelligent Mobility technologies and that further developments are to come.