The Renault-Nissan Alliance opened its new advanced research center in Silicon Valley, California, where the firm said it will initially specialize in researching and developing autonomous driving and connected cars.

Opening of Nissan Research Center Silicon Valley is part of Nissan's global strategy to expand and localize its R&D function in strategic markets, a company spokesman said. The research center will take responsibility for selected roles in collaboration with Nissan Research Center in Japan. Its center will enhance Nissan's global research capability through collaborative partnerships with companies and research institutions in this global technology hub.

The initial projects that Nissan researchers will pursue include:

Research of autonomous vehicles to realize a future with safe, stress-free mobility;

Development of connected vehicles that can tap into infrastructure and the Internet to maximize energy and time efficiency;

And Research in the area of Human Machine Interface to enhance the experience of autonomous and connected vehicles. In addition, planning and advanced development of connected vehicle services and the design of user interface systems will also be studied, the company said.

“As we continue to expand our R&D capabilities throughout the world, we aggressively pursue our activities to create new values of mobility, by harnessing the latest information and communication technologies here in our new research center in Silicon Valley," Nissan Executive Vice President supervising Research and Development Mitsuhiko Yamashita said.

In 2011, engineers from Nissan and its corporate strategic partner Renault opened an office in Mountain View. The teams will now continue their work in the larger Sunnyvale lab. Renault's primary focus in Silicon Valley is advance research on vehicle connectivity and related topics.