Nissan Eporo AI 2025 Review: Emotional Companion Assistant
At the Japan Mobility Show 2025, Nissan showcased Eporo – a bird-shaped AI assistant that combines real objects and smartphone avatars, and Diorama Navi – a 3D sandbox-style map with AI narration, aiming for emotional connection.
Nissan has taken a different approach to the race for artificial intelligence in cars: bringing emotion and physical presence back into the cockpit. The focus is Eporo – a bird-shaped AI assistant that combines a real model placed on the dashboard with a virtual character appearing on the phone screen, along with the idea of Diorama Navi – a 3D navigation system in the form of a sandbox placed on the back of a self-driving car.
At the heart of both is the experience: Eporo converses naturally, suggests destinations, and provides local and weather information; Diorama Navi simulates the car's movements around a miniature town in real time, with AI narration. This approach prioritizes the personal connection between driver and technology over simply displaying data.
Eporo – AI assistant with physical form
Eporo is introduced by Nissan as an AI that creates activities similar to a “digital companion”. The difference lies in the way it is activated: the driver places the small bird model on the dashboard, the phone application is launched 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 that popular voice assistants like Alexa and Siri have not yet achieved. Users can converse in everyday language, get destination suggestions, surrounding information and contextual weather updates.
| Category | Describe |
|---|---|
| Systemic nature | Generative AI as a digital companion |
| Activate | Place the bird model on the dashboard, start the phone application, Eporo appears on the screen |
| Communicate | Chat in everyday language, react vividly on screen |
| Function | Suggested destinations, area information, weather |
| Personalization | Create new character from personal photo via application |
| Variant | Samurai Eporo, Uncle Eporo – different personalities and conversation styles |
| Research platform | The bird-shaped robot Eporo was developed by Nissan in 2009 to study animal behavior. |
Interaction design: promoting emotion and familiarity
Nissan’s philosophy at Eporo is to “give life” to AI with small, physical objects on the dashboard and expressive avatars. This presence helps users feel closer, rather than just hearing an invisible voice. This is different from the traditional screen-chart-voice approach.
With the ability to customize characters from personal photos, Eporo expands the scope of personalization, allowing owners to assign their assistant a unique image, moving away from the “one voice fits all” model. Variants such as Samurai Eporo or Uncle Eporo further emphasize the personality aspect of human-machine communication.
Diorama Navi – 3D sandbox map with AI commentary
At the Japan Mobility Show 2025, Nissan also introduced Diorama Navi – a 3D navigation concept that sits in the back of a self-driving car. The system simulates a miniature town where tiny cars move and light up in real time to show where the car is in real life.
The system includes a classic interface screen, a retro-style control area with buttons, knobs and a “map” that realistically simulates the space the car moves in. The model recreates the Yokohama area, accompanied by AI commentary on each location the car passes through. This “living map” feeling combines technology and craftsmanship, creating a rich physical-visual experience.
| Ingredient | Detail |
|---|---|
| Installation location | Rear compartment, orientation for self-driving cars |
| Display | Miniature town model, tiny cars move in real time |
| Interface | Vintage style display, retro control panel with buttons and knobs |
| Map content | Yokohama area simulation |
| Explanation | AI explains information about the locations of vehicles passing by |
Interactive performance and real-world experience
Nissan did not release detailed specifications. According to the description, Eporo responds vividly and understands everyday language, enough to handle basic requests such as suggesting destinations, consulting area information, and updating weather. The physical model activation mechanism helps users establish instant connections without complicated command sequences.
With Diorama Navi, the value lies in the ability to visualize real-time vehicle movements as a diorama – a storytelling approach that doesn’t require the user to “read” data. The AI-powered narrative complements cognition, which is especially useful in the context of an autonomous experience that aims to relax passengers.
Safety and assistive technology
The presentation is meant to be a self-driving concept, but there’s no mention of the level of automation or specific driver assistance systems. If commercialized and regulated, concepts like Diorama Navi could serve as a passenger-vehicle interface, providing transparency of travel status without the need for complex technical displays.
Price and positioning
These are concepts/demonstration systems; Nissan has not yet announced commercial information or pricing. In terms of positioning, Eporo aims to make AI friendly and have personality, away from the trend of “all-powerful AI” that is more about function. Diorama Navi adds a layer of handcrafted, nostalgic experience, making a difference in an increasingly digital cabin.
Conclude
Eporo and Diorama Navi show how Nissan balances technology and emotion, emphasizing physical presence and personalization in the AI era.
Advantage
- The trigger mechanism is intuitive, giving the AI a sense of presence.
- Daily language communication; destination suggestion function, area information, weather.
- Customize character from personal photo; has personality variations like Samurai Eporo, Uncle Eporo.
- Intuitive Diorama Navi with AI narration; an experience that combines technology and craftsmanship.
- Retro control panel design with buttons and knobs evokes the “joy of operation”.
Limit
- No detailed commercial information and specifications available yet.
- Diorama Navi was introduced in the context of autonomous vehicles; the actual application level depends on regulations and implementation roadmap.
