An electric car that is able to park itself

An electric car that is able to park itself and come to the driver when “called” has been launched at the Ceatec 2012 show in Tokyo.

Nissan’s NSC-2015 is only a prototype, but its name suggests that the carmaker aims to have it on the market by 2015, the BBC reported.

Many car companies have been working on autonomous technology, with a number of driverless cars unveiled in recent months.

But one analyst warned that the mass use of such cars was a long way off.

The NSC-2015 is a modified version of Nissan’s Leaf model.

It relies on sensors, cameras, computers and 4G communication technology for wireless links to navigate, and robotics to turn the steering wheel, change gears and brake.

When demonstrated at Ceatec, the car drove itself at about 3mph (5km/h) in a straight line forward and in reverse, and was able to turn.

It was shown that the car could recognise road markings and was able to stop at a crossing.

A Nissan representative also controlled the car from the outside, making it drive towards him, as he pressed some buttons on his phone.

“After the driver exits the NSC-2015, it starts to park itself automatically, following the instructions given by smartphone,” the company said.

“The vehicle looks for a vacant parking space while identifying its surroundings; once it detects an open parking space automated parking begins.

“The driver can also use smartphone commands to make the NSC-2015 vehicle leave the parking space and return to the place where he or she is,” the company said.The car’s security camera system automatically works with a camera installed in the vehicle.

If the system detects suspicious behaviour, the driver is alerted automatically by a report to his or her smartphone.