- General
- September 23, 2018
- 37 minutes read
Nissan outs its most intelligent pickup idea, The Navara Dark Sky Concept
Nissan At the on-going vastly attended Hannover Motor Show, Nissan has outed a new concept featuring unconventional and groundbreaking features…
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| Nissan |
At the on-going vastly attended Hannover Motor Show, Nissan has outed a new concept featuring unconventional and groundbreaking features in form of the Nissan Navara Dark Sky Concept which highlights the company’s growing versatility in the Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) space.
The Navara Dark Sky Concept developed in the U.K in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) is endowed with an advanced version of Nissan’s ProPILOT driver assistance technology while reflecting an aptness to power and tow a mobile astronomy laboratory as illustrated by the pictures.
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Functioning as a mobile astronomy lab facilitated with a world-leading, observatory-class telescope on a denoted off-road trailer, The Dark Sky concept stands as a unique offering for customers while spotlighting a latest incorporation of the Nissan Intelligent Mobility feature for for upgraded safety.
“The Nissan Navara Dark Sky Concept is a brilliant example of Nissan serving as an authentic partner, empowering our customers to go anywhere,” Ashwani Gupta, senior vice president of Nissan’s light commercial vehicle business stated. “Through Nissan Intelligent Mobility and ProPILOT, we are creating the best solutions for the next frontiers of business, no matter how complex the commercial need.”
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The vehicle supports the European Space Agency’s mission of mapping the stars through its Gaia satellite launched into orbit in 2013 which has already observed more than a billion stars.
It does this by assisting astronomers conduct follow-up observations from difficult to reach, so-called “dark sky” locations distanced from the nighttime lights of urban areas which leads to a reduction in visibility.
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The Dark Sky Concept embodies an array of smart features including the ProPILOT assist as already stated, an Intelligent Around View Monitor system upgraded to support towing for provision of a bird’s-eye-view around the vehicle to make parking easier, an enhanced Blind Spot Warning feature to highlight objects in blind spots within the trailer range and portable battery packs which leverages EV technology from the Nissan LEAF vehicle cater for auxillary power supply in remote locations.
Other notable features include an Intelligent Towing Hitch Alignment system to let the vehicle take control of steering, acceleration, braking and shifting for automatic maneuver to enable alignment with the trailer for easy hookup and its ultrahigh-power PlaneWave telescope which counts as the heart of the new concept.
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| Nissan |
“The Nissan Navara Dark Sky Concept allows observations to take place in very remote places, avoiding light pollution, while also transporting telescopes safely and easily,” Dr Fred Jansen, ESA’s senior mission manager for the Gaia mission stated concerning the new concept “Telescopes like the one in the trailer are needed in studies of planets and stars in our galaxy, allowing Earth-based follow-up campaigns enabled by the Gaia data.”
“In Europe almost a quarter of our Navara customers regularly tow. Using Nissan Intelligent Mobility technologies, we wanted to construct the most advanced and capable pickup to meet their needs. The result is the Nissan Navara Dark Sky concept, and in future we intend to make towing a simpler and more confident activity for all our customers.” Nissan Europe’s head of LCV Business Unit Paolo D’Ettore also added.
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The Navara Concept’s design is inspired by the Cosmos with its dark exterior color plot featuring nebula motifs using parametric patterning while its interior combines the deep hues of the night sky with the orange shades of a setting sun complementing for beauty and also aiding visibility inside the vehicle with a negation of the need for white lights.
Both the vehicle and trailer being towed exclusively make use of red lighting known for affecting human night vision with least effect to provide for the best consumer experience.
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Through close work with the European Space Agency, The trailer module engulfs a a special refrigerated atmosphere for stability and calibration at optimum temperature for the telescope while in-transit to whichever location.
The module’s mechanized roof can be opened to focus the telescope once at destination providing use of a 40-centimeter (primary) mirror for output of detailed views beyond the rings of Saturn, distant galaxies, nebulae and supernovas.
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It’s robustly engineered for placement of business needs at the front line packing a secure towing hitch fused with a sturdy ladder-frame chassis; a 2.3-liter, 190 ps twin-turbo diesel engine; and 450 Nm of torque enabling tackling of rough grounds in distant areas and unchallenging handling of the telescope’s module weight.
The battery packs stocked with the Navara Dark Sky stay continuous in charging mode for ready use at anytime.
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Other smart features include WiFi, a laptop station and UHF transmission for prompt transmission of data to global locations as well as Eight combined radar units on each vehicle corner for updates on vehicle surroundings through the provided NissanConnect infotainment touch screen.
The vehicle’s Nissan Intelligent Mobility technologies work with the common goal of making the Nissan Navara Dark Sky Concept the most intelligent, equipped and effective for its pickup group.
Note: All images are official and trademarked property of the Nissan Motor Company
