Nissan Motor Company and DeNA Company have unveiled the Easy Ride brand. The latter is a new robo-vehicle mobility service that the two companies are developing jointly and they are also about to field test the technology with public participation.

The public field test will take place in the Minatomirai district of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan in March 2018.

Nissan and DeNA began their collaboration to develop a new mobility service that uses autonomous driving technology earlier this year. The two companies aim to combine the Nissan Intelligent Mobility vision, through technological assets in autonomous driving, vehicle electrification and connected cars, with DeNA’s experience in developing and operating driverless mobility services using its expertise in the internet and artificial intelligence.

Easy Ride is envisioned as a service for anyone who wants to travel freely to their destination of choice in a robo-vehicle and involves allowing customers to use a dedicated mobile app to complete the whole process - from setting destinations and summoning vehicles, to paying the fare. Users can also select recommended local destinations and sightseeing routes depending on their objectives. Nissan and DeNA plan to support multiple languages and to use a remote monitoring system to ensure customer safety.

Nissan and DeNA aim to provide the service as a new infrastructure option that supplements existing transportation. With customers able to discover new local destinations through Easy Ride, the companies expect the service will also help energise cities and neighbourhoods.