To keep them rolling down the road, autonomous cars need all kinds of technology to work together seamlessly. Radar, ultrasonic sensors, cameras, GPS navigation… all are essential to operation. And if you’re truly expecting to step into a sci-fi future filled with robo cars, go ahead and add vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) tech to the list. V2I is important because it provides insight into the kinds of stuff onboard sensors might not be able to pick up or handle, such as road conditions a mile ahead, heavy traffic management, and toll collection. But before the whole world goes fully autonomous, V2I still has huge potential to improve our daily motoring lives right now, and it looks like Audi is moving forward with the latest innovations for the modern consumer.
Recently unveiled in Las Vegas, Audi has introduced a new V2I feature that uses an onboard 4G LTE connection to interface with the city’s traffic management system and monitor real-time traffic light info.
Dubbed the “time-to-green” feature, the feature works like this – when a V2I-equipped car is stopped at a “connected” traffic light, the driver will be able to see a countdown of the time until the light turns green in the driver instrument cluster, or, if so equipped, the heads-up display. According to Audi, this info will “reduce stress and [allow] the driver to relax knowing approximately how much time remains before the changing of the light.”
Usually, I do the same thing by watching for the change to yellow in perpendicular lights, but granted, it’s not a foolproof system. Something that’s actually digitally connected to the lights would probably be a bit more accurate.
Anyway, Audi says “time-to-green” is the first feature of the Audi Traffic Light Information service V2I technology, with possible future uses including engine start/stop integration, navigation optimization, and “a speed recommendation designed to maximize the number of green lights one can make in a sequence.”
Traffic Light Information is a feature of Audi connect Prime, and will be incorporated in certain 2017 Audi A4, Q7, and allroad models produced after June 1, 2016. The service launches this month exclusively in Las Vegas, but it’s expected to see an expansion to other cities in the near future.
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