Nissan develops technology to make smoother turns

Vehicle technology and driver safety aids are becoming more and more advanced as time progresses, and new technologies are emerging that have given some commentators the confidence to predict that automobile crashes may be a thing of the past within a decade or two. Nissan today announced two of its own new technologies that operate under this category, both of which help drivers to make smooth turns, according to its creators.

Nissan claims that its new technologies are able to help drivers make smooth turns by synchronizing navigation, engine, braking and steering systems. To do this, Nissan is proposing a new 'Intelligent Pedal' that can supposedly help the driver to decelerate when the car enters a curve. While this is good in theory, the practicality of the situation becomes less appealing when you discover that it works by using the navigation system to see the curve ahead and then moves the accelerator pedal upwards to assist the driver to release the accelerator pedal. The system will also activate the brakes, in order to reduce the driver's workload on curvy roads.

While this kind of technology may or may not be successful in preventing road injuries and crashes, the sheer amount of electronic systems used to simply go around a corner makes us cringe at the thought of what cars may be like to drive in the future. Additionally, Nissan is introducing a new Active Stability Assist system that individually controls the braking and application of torque to each of the wheels in order to smooth vehicle response and to make the driver feel more in control.

While that may sound like a dubious way to explain the two technologies, we'll have to wait to see how the systems operate in the real world when they appear on the next-generation Nissan Fuga (Infiniti M) in late 2009 or early 2010.