The Renault-Nissan Alliance takes a multi-pronged approach to autonomy and connectivity

The projects involve developing autonomous vehicles, electric cars and infrastructure, and infotainment. Among those companies are an organization of cities aptly called 100 Resilient Cities (100RC), a Japanese internet company called DeNA, and Microsoft, which we doubt needs any introduction.

Renault-Nissan's work with 100RC is focused on working with member cities to figure out what their transportation and mobility issues are, now and in the future. According to Renault-Nissan, it is the first automaker to join the organization. In return, the company will help them develop strategies and plans for infrastructure that will handle electric vehicles and charging, vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, autonomous technology, and mobility tech. The partnership will also allow the company to test new automotive and mobility technology in the cities.

The automaker had fewer details about its work with DeNA and Microsoft. With DeNA, the company is working on developing autonomous vehicles for commercial use. The companies will begin testing in select parts of Japan this year, and they plan to test commercial vehicles in metro Tokyo by 2020. With Microsoft, Renault-Nissan is exploring new ways to enhance connectivity in cars. One of the technologies the companies are trying out is the digital assistant program, Cortana. Renault-Nissan says that it could help improve voice recognition and allow multiple people who share a car to have specific vehicle settings set automatically when entering. If BMW's autonomous 5 Series prototype is anything to go by, Cortana could also do more, including providing calendar reminders and making reservations at restaurants.