Audi shows off Travolution vehicle-to-infrastructure communication system (update: video!)
By Donald Melanson 
posted June 4th 2010 1:46PM
posted June 4th 2010 1:46PM
We've already seen Audi show off a car-to-traffic light communication system, but the automaker has stepped things up considerably with a recent demonstration of its new Travolution system, which not only lets cars communicate with traffic lights, but other cars as well. The basic idea is the same as before: to cut down on pollution and fuel-consumption by reducing idling at stop lights and, in some cases, the need to stop at all. To do that, the system relies on a combination of WiFi and 3G, which currently lets Audi's 15 test cars communicate with some 150 traffic lights in Ingolstadt, Germany -- and with each other to further avoid accidents. What's more, the system can now also even take control of the vehicles in some instances to prevent them from running a red light, and it will give drivers a heads up about the status of upcoming traffic lights -- saying, for instance, if the next light will be red or green if you continue at your current speed. As if that wasn't enough, the system also helps keep track of traffic jams, and Audi has even thrown in online payment at gas stations and parking garages for good measure. Head on past the break for the complete press release.
Update: Video after the break!
[Thanks, Christopher]
Update: Video after the break!
[Thanks, Christopher]
New ideas for urban mobility – Audi improves efficiency and safety in road traffic
INGOLSTADT, Germany - Efficiency is a central theme for Audi. The company has therefore gone beyond optimizing vehicle technologies and is conducting research into the idea of intelligently controlled traffic. In the travolution project being conducted by the brand with the four rings in Ingolstadt, cars can communicate with traffic lights. This networking makes the flow of traffic smoother and thus reduces CO2 emissions. Audi is assuming a leading role in this field of technology, which is known as Car-to-X communication.
Today's technology: communicating traffic light systems
Road traffic today is still controlled largely with yesterday's technology – at the expense of the environment. When a car stops at a red light, it uses approximately 0.02 liters (0.01 US gallons) of fuel when it pulls away. This corresponds to roughly 5 grams of CO2. In urban traffic, which in Germany is regulated by roughly 60,000 traffic signal systems, the 50 million cars in Germany emit roughly 15 million tons of CO2 or approximately 20 percent of their total emissions.
These emissions can be reduced if the traffic lights initiate contact with the vehicles. This is precisely what Audi is targeting with the travolution project. Launched in 2006 at AUDI AG headquarters in Ingolstadt, the project has already produced many promising results. As the project stands now, the Audi experts expect CO2 emissions at traffic lights to decrease by roughly 15 percent. This corresponds to an equivalent of approximately 900 million liters (237,754,846.12 US gallons) of gasoline per year if this new technology were to be deployed throughout Germany.
Audi is collaborating with a number of partners in the travolution project, including the City of Ingolstadt, Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH, TaxiFunk Ingolstadt, ADAC (General German Automobile Association), GEVAS software GmbH, the Technical University of Munich, Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
For the first step, the Audi engineers and its partners researched a new traffic light algorithm that is designed to be self-learning. It controls 46 of the roughly traffic light systems in Ingolstadt. The results: Prior to the optimization, the vehicles had to stop at every fourth light on average; now it is only every fifth light. This saves 17 percent fuel per year. Given the volume of traffic in Ingolstadt, this amounts to roughly 700,000 liters (184,920.44 US gallons) – an amount with which 1,000 Audi A4 2.0 TDI cars could drive for a year, assuming annual mileage of 14,000 kilometers (8,699.20 miles) per vehicle.
This first stage of the travolution project, which was subsidized by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Economy, Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology, was concluded in 2008. Last year, the initiative "Germany – Land of Ideas" awarded its "Selected Landmark 2009" prize to the City of Ingolstadt for this project.
At the same time, Audi engineers began equipping the first Ingolstadt traffic light systems with a completely new, active communication technology in 2006. They have continuously expanded and improved this aspect of travolution to this day.
Current status: over 150 traffic lights
As of June 2010, 25 traffic light systems have been included in the trial, with preparations underway for an additional 27. The systems already active are primarily located on the Ringstrasse, which encircles the city, and Ettinger Strasse, which runs northward past Audi's Ingolstadt plant. Because each system comprises multiple lights, the project covers a total of more than 150 traffic lights.
Audi is developing two technologies for the communication between the traffic lights and the cars. Ten traffic lights use WLAN to broadcast its signals to the immediate surroundings; the other 15 send their signals to a server located in the Altes Rathaus (Old Townhall) downtown. The existing underground cables are used to transmit the data to the server; the vehicles retrieve the information via UMTS.
The 15 test vehicles from Audi – 13 Audi A4 allroad quattro and two Audi Q5 models – receive these data via a module equipped with a WLAN antenna and via a UMTS data interface. Each traffic light system continuously transmits a package of standard information that includes a description of the system's structure, a status report on the color of the individual traffic lights for the respective directions of travel and a preview of how the lights will most likely change in the new future.
The controller in the test vehicle uses this information to compute fuel-saving driving behavior for the driver. "Imagine that you are currently 150 meters (492.13 ft) away from a traffic light in your A4 allroad quattro," says Audi pre-development engineer Cornelius Menig, who heads the project. The light is red, but will change to green in 15 seconds. If you now continue driving at 50 km/h (30.17 mph), you will arrive at the light during the last few seconds of the red phase and have to stop, only to immediately start off again. If you reduce your speed to 35 km/h (21.75 mph), however, the light will be green when you get there."
The vehicles in the test fleet show the information on the display of the driver information system using a concept developed by Audi in field trials. The display has been expanded to include a popup line that shows the recommended speed. The driver receives the information for that traffic light for the line currently occupied, and the system also considers active turn signals. Alternately, the vehicle can also be located using predictive route data, such as that provided by the new Audi A8.
Even more efficient: smartACC
Two of the Audi test cars are equipped with Audi's adaptive cruise control (ACC). The travolution project turns the radar-assisted cruise control into a smartACC system. The traffic light system transmits the time of the next light change to the vehicle. The on-board computer uses this to then compute the optimal speed. If the driver then briefly pulls on the steering column stalk, this assistant brings the car to precisely this speed, and the driver is spared having to wait at the light.
The assistant to avoid red light violations integrates an additional function. It warns a driver who attempts to enter an intersection when the light is yellow or red or is changing to red while the driver crosses the stop line. Audi developed this feature in light of the fact that the authorities register nearly 300,000 red light violations in Germany each year. These violations result in roughly 7,500 accidents resulting in injuries and around 100 fatal accidents, in most of which the victims are pedestrians.
As with the audi braking guard from which this function has been derived, there are two stages to the red light warning depending on the situation. Stage 1 is a red light in the driver information system combined with a warning tone. In Stage 2, these are followed by brief activation of the brakes. The system slows the car slightly to encourage the driver to step on the brakes.
Despite all of the networked intelligence of the travolution project, it will still not be possible to ride the dynamic green wave at all times, such as during rush hour. When the test car is waiting at the light, the driver information system display shows the time remaining of the red phase. That calms the driver, makes modern start-stop systems more efficient and simultaneously increases awareness for starting off smartly when the light turns green. This does not happen in many cases today. A driver who remains stopped at a green light frequently results in massive delays in tightly timed stop-and-go traffic, much to the annoyance of other drivers.
Vehicles can report traffic jams and can generate an overall picture of the traffic situation in a city. This is achieved in the travolution project using empirical data, taxi floating car data (Taxi FCD) and information from the ADAC, which the vehicle can actively retrieve from the server via UMTS.
The travolution project also includes two additional convenience services – online payment at filling stations and parking garages. In both cases, the individual steps are visualized on the MMI on-board monitor, where the driver can also see how many parking spots are still available.
The car logs in to the fuel pump or the parking garage gate. The driver's credit or charge card is stored in the system. The driver confirms payment via the MMI, and the amount is deducted after refueling or parking.
This scope makes travolution the leading project in Europe and throughout the world in its field. Audi is very well informed about this topic for the future because Audi has been working on Car-to-X communication – the networking of the automobile with its surroundings - for ten years. Audi is a founding member of a European consortium in this field.
Car-to-X communication: Audi in the simTD project
As a complement to travolution, Audi is also involved in the nationwide simTD project, which stands for "Safe and Intelligent Mobility Test Bed Germany." This project is being funded by three German federal ministries. Five other German carmakers, two major suppliers, Deutsche Telekom and a number of scientific and public institutions have been collaborating on this project since 2008.
The large-scale trial, scheduled for four years, comprises five sub-projects, one of which is managed by Audi. 20 traffic light systems and 400 vehicles in the Frankfurt am Main metropolitan area, where the simTD trial is being conducted, are being retrofitted with the same technology as in Ingolstadt. The Ingolstadt specialists are also involved in the area of traffic information with road preview and extended navigation.
Audi is also involved in the field of driving and safety, where it is working on the intersection assistant. Here the cars exchange information with one another, and this communication is used to provide active warnings of collisions for a greater level of safety.
Networked knowledge: more safety, better economy
Car-to-X communication harbors significant potential for enhancing safety and reducing fuel consumption.
Cars can warn each other of breakdowns and weather-related events such as snowy roads detected by the ESP sensors. The owners can communicate with the vehicles from the comfort of their home or office to load a route into the navigation system, for example.
The City of Frankfurt am Main is very pleased by the current state of the project, according to Cornelius Menig, who heads the Audi simTD subproject. Audi is willing to serve as a consultant to interested communities and regions. Menig says, "Our objective is a strategic alliance between carmakers, suppliers, the telecommunications industry and the public sector. As for us: we're ready to go today."
The equipment and data specified in this document refer to the model range offered in Germany. Subject to change without notice; errors and omissions excepted.
INGOLSTADT, Germany - Efficiency is a central theme for Audi. The company has therefore gone beyond optimizing vehicle technologies and is conducting research into the idea of intelligently controlled traffic. In the travolution project being conducted by the brand with the four rings in Ingolstadt, cars can communicate with traffic lights. This networking makes the flow of traffic smoother and thus reduces CO2 emissions. Audi is assuming a leading role in this field of technology, which is known as Car-to-X communication.
Today's technology: communicating traffic light systems
Road traffic today is still controlled largely with yesterday's technology – at the expense of the environment. When a car stops at a red light, it uses approximately 0.02 liters (0.01 US gallons) of fuel when it pulls away. This corresponds to roughly 5 grams of CO2. In urban traffic, which in Germany is regulated by roughly 60,000 traffic signal systems, the 50 million cars in Germany emit roughly 15 million tons of CO2 or approximately 20 percent of their total emissions.
These emissions can be reduced if the traffic lights initiate contact with the vehicles. This is precisely what Audi is targeting with the travolution project. Launched in 2006 at AUDI AG headquarters in Ingolstadt, the project has already produced many promising results. As the project stands now, the Audi experts expect CO2 emissions at traffic lights to decrease by roughly 15 percent. This corresponds to an equivalent of approximately 900 million liters (237,754,846.12 US gallons) of gasoline per year if this new technology were to be deployed throughout Germany.
Audi is collaborating with a number of partners in the travolution project, including the City of Ingolstadt, Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH, TaxiFunk Ingolstadt, ADAC (General German Automobile Association), GEVAS software GmbH, the Technical University of Munich, Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
For the first step, the Audi engineers and its partners researched a new traffic light algorithm that is designed to be self-learning. It controls 46 of the roughly traffic light systems in Ingolstadt. The results: Prior to the optimization, the vehicles had to stop at every fourth light on average; now it is only every fifth light. This saves 17 percent fuel per year. Given the volume of traffic in Ingolstadt, this amounts to roughly 700,000 liters (184,920.44 US gallons) – an amount with which 1,000 Audi A4 2.0 TDI cars could drive for a year, assuming annual mileage of 14,000 kilometers (8,699.20 miles) per vehicle.
This first stage of the travolution project, which was subsidized by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Economy, Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology, was concluded in 2008. Last year, the initiative "Germany – Land of Ideas" awarded its "Selected Landmark 2009" prize to the City of Ingolstadt for this project.
At the same time, Audi engineers began equipping the first Ingolstadt traffic light systems with a completely new, active communication technology in 2006. They have continuously expanded and improved this aspect of travolution to this day.
Current status: over 150 traffic lights
As of June 2010, 25 traffic light systems have been included in the trial, with preparations underway for an additional 27. The systems already active are primarily located on the Ringstrasse, which encircles the city, and Ettinger Strasse, which runs northward past Audi's Ingolstadt plant. Because each system comprises multiple lights, the project covers a total of more than 150 traffic lights.
Audi is developing two technologies for the communication between the traffic lights and the cars. Ten traffic lights use WLAN to broadcast its signals to the immediate surroundings; the other 15 send their signals to a server located in the Altes Rathaus (Old Townhall) downtown. The existing underground cables are used to transmit the data to the server; the vehicles retrieve the information via UMTS.
The 15 test vehicles from Audi – 13 Audi A4 allroad quattro and two Audi Q5 models – receive these data via a module equipped with a WLAN antenna and via a UMTS data interface. Each traffic light system continuously transmits a package of standard information that includes a description of the system's structure, a status report on the color of the individual traffic lights for the respective directions of travel and a preview of how the lights will most likely change in the new future.
The controller in the test vehicle uses this information to compute fuel-saving driving behavior for the driver. "Imagine that you are currently 150 meters (492.13 ft) away from a traffic light in your A4 allroad quattro," says Audi pre-development engineer Cornelius Menig, who heads the project. The light is red, but will change to green in 15 seconds. If you now continue driving at 50 km/h (30.17 mph), you will arrive at the light during the last few seconds of the red phase and have to stop, only to immediately start off again. If you reduce your speed to 35 km/h (21.75 mph), however, the light will be green when you get there."
The vehicles in the test fleet show the information on the display of the driver information system using a concept developed by Audi in field trials. The display has been expanded to include a popup line that shows the recommended speed. The driver receives the information for that traffic light for the line currently occupied, and the system also considers active turn signals. Alternately, the vehicle can also be located using predictive route data, such as that provided by the new Audi A8.
Even more efficient: smartACC
Two of the Audi test cars are equipped with Audi's adaptive cruise control (ACC). The travolution project turns the radar-assisted cruise control into a smartACC system. The traffic light system transmits the time of the next light change to the vehicle. The on-board computer uses this to then compute the optimal speed. If the driver then briefly pulls on the steering column stalk, this assistant brings the car to precisely this speed, and the driver is spared having to wait at the light.
The assistant to avoid red light violations integrates an additional function. It warns a driver who attempts to enter an intersection when the light is yellow or red or is changing to red while the driver crosses the stop line. Audi developed this feature in light of the fact that the authorities register nearly 300,000 red light violations in Germany each year. These violations result in roughly 7,500 accidents resulting in injuries and around 100 fatal accidents, in most of which the victims are pedestrians.
As with the audi braking guard from which this function has been derived, there are two stages to the red light warning depending on the situation. Stage 1 is a red light in the driver information system combined with a warning tone. In Stage 2, these are followed by brief activation of the brakes. The system slows the car slightly to encourage the driver to step on the brakes.
Despite all of the networked intelligence of the travolution project, it will still not be possible to ride the dynamic green wave at all times, such as during rush hour. When the test car is waiting at the light, the driver information system display shows the time remaining of the red phase. That calms the driver, makes modern start-stop systems more efficient and simultaneously increases awareness for starting off smartly when the light turns green. This does not happen in many cases today. A driver who remains stopped at a green light frequently results in massive delays in tightly timed stop-and-go traffic, much to the annoyance of other drivers.
Vehicles can report traffic jams and can generate an overall picture of the traffic situation in a city. This is achieved in the travolution project using empirical data, taxi floating car data (Taxi FCD) and information from the ADAC, which the vehicle can actively retrieve from the server via UMTS.
The travolution project also includes two additional convenience services – online payment at filling stations and parking garages. In both cases, the individual steps are visualized on the MMI on-board monitor, where the driver can also see how many parking spots are still available.
The car logs in to the fuel pump or the parking garage gate. The driver's credit or charge card is stored in the system. The driver confirms payment via the MMI, and the amount is deducted after refueling or parking.
This scope makes travolution the leading project in Europe and throughout the world in its field. Audi is very well informed about this topic for the future because Audi has been working on Car-to-X communication – the networking of the automobile with its surroundings - for ten years. Audi is a founding member of a European consortium in this field.
Car-to-X communication: Audi in the simTD project
As a complement to travolution, Audi is also involved in the nationwide simTD project, which stands for "Safe and Intelligent Mobility Test Bed Germany." This project is being funded by three German federal ministries. Five other German carmakers, two major suppliers, Deutsche Telekom and a number of scientific and public institutions have been collaborating on this project since 2008.
The large-scale trial, scheduled for four years, comprises five sub-projects, one of which is managed by Audi. 20 traffic light systems and 400 vehicles in the Frankfurt am Main metropolitan area, where the simTD trial is being conducted, are being retrofitted with the same technology as in Ingolstadt. The Ingolstadt specialists are also involved in the area of traffic information with road preview and extended navigation.
Audi is also involved in the field of driving and safety, where it is working on the intersection assistant. Here the cars exchange information with one another, and this communication is used to provide active warnings of collisions for a greater level of safety.
Networked knowledge: more safety, better economy
Car-to-X communication harbors significant potential for enhancing safety and reducing fuel consumption.
Cars can warn each other of breakdowns and weather-related events such as snowy roads detected by the ESP sensors. The owners can communicate with the vehicles from the comfort of their home or office to load a route into the navigation system, for example.
The City of Frankfurt am Main is very pleased by the current state of the project, according to Cornelius Menig, who heads the Audi simTD subproject. Audi is willing to serve as a consultant to interested communities and regions. Menig says, "Our objective is a strategic alliance between carmakers, suppliers, the telecommunications industry and the public sector. As for us: we're ready to go today."
The equipment and data specified in this document refer to the model range offered in Germany. Subject to change without notice; errors and omissions excepted.
Which will never come to America due to the small percentage that can actually afford an Audi.
That and the fact that we are cheap.
@Distant Actually the bigger reason it probably won't come to the US is because of the culture of litigation here. It'll take all of 2 seconds for a personal injury lawyer involved in any Audi accident to sue Audi as responsible for it.
That said, I'm looking forward to sleeping through my drive to work while my car just gets me there ;)
@Distant
What? The real problem is getting the traffic light infrastructure implemented. What makes you think this tech will be Audi-only? In any event, if they sold more cheap stripped-down Audis here like they do in other markets, more people could afford them.
This is really exciting. I'm so tired of the same old 1950s tech traffic lights. There's a proliferation of red turn arrows in the name of "safety" and it just causes nothing but non-stop waiting. It's so absurd to have to sit at a red light for a minute or two when there is no traffic whatsoever.
@Distant Audi belongs to Volkswagen, which build slightly more afordable cars...althou the audi a1 is pretty cheap
@UnixSystemsEngineer Uh, its called making turns against flowing traffic is STUPID
@ddddd
Actully, buddy, this system interjects and prevents a vehicle from driving through a red light (that is what is shown in the last demonstration), so therefore this is VERY VERY NOT DANGER!!! CAUSE MANY PEOPLE NO CAN STILL DRIVE OVER THE RED LIGHT!
Sounds cool to me except for the part about the ability to take control of your vehicle...
@TheTabe
Pffft. What could possibly go wrong?
@Sogeking
LOL
@TheTabe A lot of drivers out there SHOULD have computers take over for them. I'm talking about the people who squat in the left lane going below the speed limit, the idiot flying down the center turn lane as if it's a regular lane, the people driving like they're going to a funeral when the rest of us have places to go and prefer not to spend all day in traffic, etc.
@TheTabe
Would be much cooler if it could take control of the traffic lights. Maybe it's in their but they didn't mention it. I wish the traffic density would control the time intervals of the traffic lights. Not the other way around.
@LANjackal
Oh, I agree with that! I guess I should have said that I don't want a system like this to be able to take control of MY vehicle, but I really wish a lot of other drivers out there would have something take control of THEIRS! lol :P
@TheTabe
It couldn't be worse than the majority of drivers on the streets.
@TheTabe
After driving in Milwaukee you would appreciate the car stopping people from driving through red lights. Every time I am up there on a weekend I witness and nearly avoid 5+ cars running red lights that have been red for at least 2-3 seconds before they enter the intersection.
I came up with this concept of communication between vehicles and signs a long time ago. Having cars communicate with Speed Limit signs and not allowing the vehicle to exceed that speed limit to deal with all the law breakers in this country.
@(Unverified) Some of us have places to go, buddy. I'm not doing 65 or 55 when I can get away with doing 80 or do triple digits when there's no patrol out, sorry.
@LANjackal
"If you're important, people will wait..."
@LANjackal
Ahh, so I take it you are the idiot weaving in and out of traffic on a semi-busy highway, because you don't want to go 10 above the speed limit, but you can get away with 15 above the speed limit?
@whiskers Depends on the city you're in. Some cities have absurdly low (like 55) speed limits on their freeways that everyone flouts. Chicago, for example has 55 posted in many places within the city, but you can routinely whiz through at 80 with no problems (except for the people doing 65 ;) ).
Other states - such as those in the central midwest - have vast swathes of unpatrolled highway, usually in rural areas in which traffic is thin anyway. Triple digits come easy in those parts, and since other cars are few and far between there's not much weaving to be done.
@ytilanigiroon for a 20 mile stretch of road, the difference between going 60mph and 80mph is only 5 minutes.
Any sense of 'win' is quickly quashed by traffic lights at the next exit.
@alexz
Or the red and blue flashing in your rear-view...
once again - another step closer to automated cars!
And up until the moment you have an ambulance right before you but can't get out of the way because it's a red sign and the car does not move....
How about improving Audi's Navigation system so it's on par with what toyota's offering first?
It's address search is so bad that it's not even funny.
@Ben64
Yeah, the Germans are so far behind the Japanese in entertainment/nav electronics. It took so long for them to finally implement touch-screen systems, and many makes still don't have them.
Fortunately I'm too cheap to buy new cars, so I just rock the Nuvi.
@UnixSystemsEngineer The Germans are behind the Japanese for the same reason they were behind on cup-holders and vanity mirrors. When you're driving down the Autobahn at 120 mph, you should have two hands on the wheel and not doing your make-up, drinking/eating, or fiddling with the damn nav system. Plus, when was the last time you heard of any German company being the leader in electronics.
You can buy a new GPS every 3-6 months that has better technology than the previous iteration. You can't buy an Audi on that time scale. I'm sure out of date vehicle nav systems kill the resale value too.
This is extremely awesome.
Gosh! Has the day when our car drive us, come already? Is this even called driving?
Just because it CAN be done, doesn't mean it SHOULD be done.
zzz. Wake me when the priority module gets hacked, giving me greenlights all the time.
This is nice in theory however I don't think partially automated cars are a good idea. Control should either be completely automated or not at all or else it will be like fighting with somebody over the wheel. In casual situations with a pre-warning that the car is taking over it might be okay, but in an accident avoidance situation I think the human tendency would be to react against the computer assistance.
The traffic light communication would be a big win for traffic and fuel efficiency, however I think it could be done almost as effectively with intelligent traffic lights combined with motion and road sensors and then all the cost would be in the infrastructure as opposed to the cars.
@invisible21 you speak of fighting like everyone does it, maybe more people will become pacifists for once and/or stop fighting other humans... step in the correct direction perhaps?
Wuhu german cars are the best.. :)
This system will work great when I'm driving down the highway, have to pull a u-turn in the grass and head the other way going 110mph because there is a fracking tornado coming at me after I went over a hill.
That actually happened to me a few weeks ago. On the radio they said the Tornado was moving over 60mph. That is forward speed, not wind speed. Sometimes you have to break the law to save lives. I know my wife is glad that I broke the law. She would have been dead too. That was some intense stuff man. Real intense. If my car had been like "you're going too fast, taking control now, slowing to 60mph" I would have freaked out and probably wouldn't be here today.
Back in highschool I took my little sister up to McDonald's late one night (its a 24hr one--it was summer and like 12am) and we got some ice cream. On the way back we had some older, somewhat drunk college looking guys following us real close. They tried to run us off the road, and followed us for a few miles every random turn I would make. We finally got to a stoplight after they had pulled in front of us. They hopped out of their car--there were five of them--and started running at my car. One of them had a crowbar. I sped straight at them, nearly running one of them over, and went through the red light. I then went 90mph down a 40mph zone and turned through some neighborhoods and made it home. If my car had taken over then, bad things would have happened to not only me but my little sister. I wasn't going to take any chances with her in the car. I still can't figure out what in the hell was wrong with those guys.
Point is--its crazy out there on the roads. You never know what situation will present itself, and its best to be able to take manual control over your car to get out of harm's way.
Great technology, but there are always questions:
1- Will the traffic light transmitters also become detectors for red-light runners? Considering that the vehicle has a receiver and transmitter, its theoretical that the lights are bi-directional too.
2-Will the gas station be able to tell which pump youre at (and not errantly pay for someone else in range)?
3- Can you have more than one profile in one vehicle (for those who share cars, but not bank accounts)?
@djjr50 in response to 2) you see in the clip that the driver chooses the pump he's at.
Who would have thought the first terminator would be an Audi lol
As in transvestite revolution.
i am a network engineer and have been wanting to see this since the early eighties. it really makes sense to network all vehicles with the traffic infrastructure.
we've all experienced the stupid feeling of sitting at a red light with no one around. at least with a manual stop sign our brain has some control - but with an electronically controlled stop light our destiny is in the control of a dumbed down timing circuit. that is about as bad a technology implementation as i've ever seen. it's almost as bad as obama's plans.
So now my car will tell me that I need to go faster to make it before the light turns red. I can picture people gunning it from one red light, watching the little "The next light will be..." signal...
I agree with those that said we either need full automation or no automation. Partial automation in some cars could cause a lot of problems.
Regards the argument that partially automatic control of the car could lead to problems - I think that most people know (including the people that will be designing this sort of stuff) that in certain emergency situations speeding or running a light is the right thing to do.
For that reason, I think that having the car take control of itself will always be 'override-able', so the car first warns you that you're going towards a red light and at your current speed will go through it. Only if you ignore the warning and don't press the override button will it actually break.