The ‘Traffic Light Assist’ technology, which will be launched by Audi in the autumn, aims to tell driver exactly how long they have before traffic lights change colour. It will communicate with new smart traffic lights already installed select cities and metropolitan areas.
Audi will begin offering a new traffic light technology in three of its models so that it’s possible to rarely stop at a red light. The technology is part of Audi Connect Prime services infotainment package subscription for the 2017 Audi A4, A4 Allroad, and Q7 SUV. The technology, called V21, enables a car to communicate with an urban area’s traffic light infrastructure. At first, the technology will be rolled out in a few select cities and metro areas in the United States. Audi says it will also be used in UK cars in the future, but is waiting for the infrastructure to be rolled out first.
Information from the traffic light systems is transmitted to the car and shown on the dashboard – or eventually on a heads up display. When combined with the motion sensors and speed information from the car, drivers can be told exactly how to avoid stopping at red lights. It shows the driver the speed to select in order to reach the next traffic light during a green phase. Acoustic signals also warn the driver in advance of red lights. The Traffic Light Assist system was first tested in Ingolstadt and Berlin in Germany, Verona in Italy, and was shown off at CES in Las Vegas in January. Audi claims the traffic light info online enables CO2 reductions of up to 15 per cent.
Car manufacturers are also racing to develop vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems, which will let cars communicate with each other and plot their positions on a road, with the aim of reducing traffic jams and crashes. The technology will bring cars one step closer to navigating roads with little, or no human intervention, but much depends on the roll out of smart infrastructure, as well as in cars themselves.
Souces : Daily Mail, J.D. Power, Wired
Photo : Daily Mail
