The number of major automakers working on their proprietary blend of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) has grown by one. In addition to brands like Tesla and Ford, Nissan has announced it is beginning the development of its own self-driving and driver assistance technologies. Nissan has partnered with Luminar, a global automotive technology company with ties to other automakers, like Volvo.

Together, the brands have projected that Nissan's ADAS technology will be ready by 2030, with development finishing in "the mid-2020s." Right now at least, it appears the system is aimed squarely at accident prevention and supplementing already available driver assistance systems, and not at creating a Tesla Autopilot competitor. It's a huge step for Nissan, who up until now, was really only dipping its toe into driverless tech.

Nissan calls the tech "Ground Truth Perception," and its list of capabilities should prove impressive if they make it to market. The tech can detect both the size and shape of distant objects in real-time, apparently with a very high degree of accuracy. Using that info, the test mule, an Infiniti Q50 (Nissan Skyline GT in Japan), can instantly analyze a given situation and automatically avoid potential collisions.

Of course, object detection isn't the only aspect of autonomous tech, and Nissan says the system can also use the system to pick up on slowed traffic or obstacles and initiate a lane change automatically. To do so, the brand's ProPILOT tech uses a blend of seven radar sensors, ten cameras, and a LiDAR system. Nissan also says the system will be able to provide some kind of support to drivers in areas where "detailed map information is not available."

We're not exactly sure what that means, or how exactly it'll help, as Nissan doesn't elaborate further. It's a bit of a stab in the dark, but perhaps the system will download maps in areas along a route with poor reception, and then use the car's autonomous technology to help direct the driver when the car's GPS can't. We'd imagine this would be particularly useful with electric cars like the Nissan Ariya, directing drivers to the nearest charger even when the GPS can't.

The new ProPILOT system developed with Luminar falls under the brand's Nissan Ambition 2030 plan, which includes a run of 23 electrified models, and 50% electrification by 2030. As Nissan begins to pivot into a new era, it'll be interesting to see what direction the brand takes with further development of the ProPILOT software.