The Mars Society is excited to welcome the Nissan Advanced Technology Center – Silicon Valley (NATC-SV) as a sponsor of the 2024 University Rover Challenge.
Based in Santa Clara, Calif., NATC-SV is the center of global excellence for Artificial Intelligence and next-generation mobility solutions at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Researchers and scientists at the center study all areas of automotive research, from the use of AI for developing new battery materials to the design of new systems on a chip for the next software defined vehicle. Specific areas of interest to this robotic challenge are the use of robotics and autonomy – combined with computer-, data- and social sciences – to improve mobility and invent real solutions for tomorrow.
“I’m thrilled that we’re sponsoring the Mars Society University Rover Challenge,” said Dr. Maarten Sierhuis, vice president and global director of the Nissan Advanced Technology Center – Silicon Valley. “It’s the kind of STEM event that brings together talented young STEM people from all over the world who are interested in space exploration. One reason we want to support this event is that we’re always looking for great talent, and I want participants to feel welcome to reach out and become potential interns or even future hires.”
The long-term vision of Nissan’s Ambition 2030 program is to bring advanced driver-assistance and intelligence technologies to more customers. That includes the goal of expanding Nissan ProPILOT technology to over 2.5 million Nissan and INFINITI vehicles by fiscal year 2026. Nissan also aims to incorporate next-generation LIDAR systems on virtually every new model by fiscal year 2030.
