Nissan's Leaf electric vehicle (EV) is celebrating its 5th anniversary, which might explain an experiment or project in a video that projects the driver's thoughts onto the road surrounding the car. The drivers wear a headset that converts their cognition into words that are transferred to bubbles that other people can view. A new video features an "electric CARtoon" that features projectors mounted on the car roof that send anime-like thought bubbles beside the car.
Nissan's "mind-reading" car is a different version than the concept most people might have. It does not involve getting behind the wheel, buckling up the seatbelt, and then letting brain cells control how the vehicle travels on country roads or city highways.
The Japanese automaker's vision of a mind-controlled car still requires someone to drive the car. However, the brain-scanning headband worn by the driver picks up his or her feelings then projects them onto the road.
The drivers in the video are sitting behind the wheel of an EV for the first time, according to Slash Gear. This could explain the function of the thought bubbles. The cognitions are not actually a translation of the thoughts inside the driver's head, and are instead based on the readers of the "relaxation" chart.
In the video the emotions that pop into the driver's mind are happy ones. Angry ones that show road rage might be more practical for other drivers to see and then drive defensively, according to PC Mag.
Another issue is that the feelings are projected onto the road instead of on the car windshield. This would require the cars' operators to take their eyes off the road to see their thought bubbles, which could result in distracted drivers.
The Nissan Leaf is an all-electric vehicle so the driver experience it offers is different than when operating a gas-powered or hybrid autos. This is greatly due to Tesla, which recently unveiled its Model 3 sedan. People lined up and camped out at Tesla dealerships around the world to pre-order the company's next EV that follows its Model S sedan and Model X SUV crossover.
The Model 3 is nearing 400,000 pre-orders. However, General Motors vice president Dan Nicholson argues that its Chevrolet Bolt is a better green car than Tesla's Model 3.
Here's the 2017 Nissan Leaf: