Nissan Eporo AI 2025 Review: An Emotional Companion Assistant
At the Japan Mobility Show 2025, Nissan showcased Eporo – a bird-shaped AI assistant that combines real-world objects and avatars on smartphones, along with Diorama Navi – a 3D map with AI-powered commentary, aiming for emotional connection.
Nissan is taking a different approach in the AI race for cars: bringing emotions and a physical presence back into the cockpit. At the heart of this is Eporo – a bird-shaped AI assistant combining a real model on the dashboard with a virtual character appearing on a phone screen, along with the concept of Diorama Navi – a 3D map-style navigation system placed behind the self-driving car.
The focus of both is the experience: Eporo engages in natural conversation, suggests destinations, and provides information on the area and weather; Diorama Navi simulates the car's movement in a miniature town in real time, with AI commentary. This approach prioritizes a personal connection between the driver and technology rather than simply displaying data.
Eporo – an AI assistant with a physical form.
Nissan introduced Eporo as a lifelike AI similar to a "digital companion." The difference lies in how it's activated: the driver places the small bird model on the dashboard, the app on their phone launches, and the virtual character Eporo appears on the screen. The phone then acts as a "mirror," where the user sees Eporo open its eyes, move its mouth, and respond to commands.
The combination of real objects and virtual images creates a sense of presence – something popular voice assistants like Alexa or Siri haven't achieved. Users can converse in everyday language, receive destination suggestions, information about their surroundings, and contextual weather updates.
| Category | Describe |
|---|---|
| The nature of the system | AI generation plays the role of a digital companion. |
| Activate | Place the bird model on the dashboard, the phone app launches, and Eporo appears on the screen. |
| Communicate | Everyday conversation, lively on-screen reactions. |
| Function | Suggested destinations, area information, and weather. |
| Personalization | Create new characters from personal photos using the app. |
| Variant | Samurai Eporo, Uncle Eporo – different personalities and conversational styles. |
| Research platform | The Eporo bird-shaped robot was developed by Nissan starting in 2009 to study animal behavior. |
Interactive design: emphasizing emotions and familiarity.
Nissan's philosophy at Eporo is to "give life" to AI through a compact object on the dashboard and an expressive avatar. This presence helps users feel a sense of closeness, rather than just hearing an invisible voice. This is a key difference from the traditional screen-chart-voice approach.
With the ability to customize characters from personal photos, Eporo expands the scope of personalization, allowing car owners to assign a unique persona to their assistant, differing from the "one voice for all" model. Variations like Samurai Eporo or Uncle Eporo further emphasize the personality aspect in human-machine communication.
Diorama Navi – a 3D map in diorama format with AI narration.
At the Japan Mobility Show 2025, Nissan also introduced Diorama Navi – a 3D navigation concept located in the rear compartment of a self-driving car. The system simulates a miniature town, where tiny cars move and light up in real time to show the car's location in the real world.
The system features a classic interface screen, a retro-style control area with buttons and knobs, and a realistic "map" simulating the space the vehicle travels through. The model recreates the Yokohama area, accompanied by AI commentary on each location the vehicle passes. This "living map" feel combines technology and craftsmanship, creating a rich physical and visual experience.
| Ingredient | Detail |
|---|---|
| Installation location | The rear compartment, designed for autonomous driving. |
| Display | A miniature town model, tiny cars moving in real time. |
| Interface | Classic-style display, retro control panel with push buttons and knobs. |
| Map content | Yokohama area simulation |
| Explanation | AI provides commentary on the locations the vehicle passes through. |
Interactive performance and real-world experience
Nissan hasn't released detailed specifications. Based on descriptions, Eporo responds vividly and understands everyday language, sufficient to handle basic requests such as destination suggestions, area information, and weather updates. The activation mechanism, using a physical model, allows users to establish a connection instantly without complex command sequences.
With Diorama Navi, the value lies in its ability to visualize vehicle movement in real time as a model – a storytelling approach that doesn't require the user to "read" the data. The AI-assisted narration complements the user's perception, particularly useful in the context of autonomous driving experiences aimed at passenger relaxation.
Safety and supporting technology
The demonstration touched upon the context of autonomous vehicles, but provided no information on the level of automation or specific driver assistance systems. If commercialized and when regulations permit, concepts like Diorama Navi could serve as a passenger-vehicle interface, transparently displaying movement status without the need for complex technical displays.
Pricing and positioning
These are concept/system demonstrations; Nissan has not yet released commercial information or pricing. In terms of positioning, Eporo aims to make AI friendly and personality-driven, unlike the trend of "all-powerful AI" that focuses on functionality. Diorama Navi adds a layer of handcrafted, nostalgic experience, setting it apart in an increasingly digitized cabin.
Conclude
Eporo and Diorama Navi demonstrate how Nissan balances technology and emotion, emphasizing physical presence and personalization in the age of AI.
Advantage
- The activation mechanism uses a visual physical model, creating a sense of presence for the AI.
- Everyday language communication; functions include suggesting destinations, providing area information, and weather updates.
- Customize your character using your own photos; there are personality variations such as Samurai Eporo and Uncle Eporo.
- Diorama Navi is intuitive, features AI-assisted commentary, and offers an experience that combines technology and handcrafted artistry.
- The retro control panel design, with its buttons and knobs, evokes the "joy of operation."
Limit
- No commercial information or detailed technical specifications are available yet.
- Diorama Navi was introduced in the context of autonomous vehicles; the extent of its practical application depends on regulations and the deployment roadmap.
