14.5.2019. Audi is bringing the Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Service (V2I) “traffic light information” to Germany. Starting in July, Audi networked new models with the traffic lights in Ingolstadt, Germany; other European cities are to follow by 2020.
Then cars should drive as far as possible on the “Green wave” through the city: the Audi driver to see in the Cockpit, the speed at which you reach the next green light. This is in the context of the applicable speed limit is not possible, a Countdown until the next green phase. The car driving in the city is more relaxed and more efficient. In the U.S. Audi customers use the Service since the end of 2016. Audi is the first manufacturer in the world, the networks its series models with traffic lights in towns and cities.
“Stop-and-go traffic in the city is annoying. About “Green waves”, however, we are pleased to offer –catch them in the act but, unfortunately, much too rare. With the service traffic information of the driver is sovereign: He is driving to be more relaxed and more efficient, because he also knows hundreds of meters before the traffic light, whether it reaches you in Green,“ says Andre hainzl Maier, head of development, Apps, Connected Services and Smart City at Audi. “In the future, the anonymized data of our cars can help to switch off traffic lights in cities better and to optimize the flow of traffic.”
In the U.S. Audi customers use the function “Time to Green” for the past two years: the driver the next set of traffic lights at Red, is one of a Countdown in the Audi virtual cockpit or Head-up-Display the seconds until the next green phase. The Service is now at over 5,000 intersections in the United States, including in cities such as Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, or Washington, D. C., Alone, in the U. S. capital, around 1,000 intersections are networked with traffic light information.
Since February, Audi in North America offers a further function to specifically promote the efficient Drive on the “Green wave”. “Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory” (GLOSA) shows the driver the optimal speed to reach the next traffic light at Green.
Both “Time-to-Green,” as well as GLOSA be activated to Start in Ingolstadt in selected Audi models. All of the Audi e-tron, A4, A6, A7, A8, Q3, Q7 and Q8, which are produced from mid-July (“model 2020”). Prerequisite for the package “Audi connect Navigation and Infotainment,” as well as the optional “camera-based traffic sign recognition”.
Why is the function in Europe, two years later than in the US available?
The challenges for the introduction of the service in this country is significantly higher than, for example, in the United States. While urban traffic light systems have been planned over a large area and uniformly, has developed the transport infrastructure in Europe, to the more local and decentralized – with very different transport technology,“ says hainzl Maier. “As more and more cities to the technology to be connected, depends on whether data standards and interfaces establish, and cities with their traffic-light system to digitize.”
In the project, Audi is working with Traffic Technology Services (TTS). TTS is the raw data of the urban traffic management center prepares, and transmits them to the Audi Server. From there, the information can get a fast Internet connection in the car.
Audi, the traffic light information in the next few years in other cities in Germany, Europe, Canada and the United States. In the Eastern Chinese city of millions, Wuxi, Audi and partners to test the connectivity between cars and traffic lights systems in the context of a development project.
In the future, Audi could benefit customers of other functions, for example, if “Green waves” in the optimal route. So, it is conceivable that the Audi e-tron models to use when Coasting to the red light amplifies the braking energy to Charge the battery. Coupled with the predictive adaptive cruise control (pACC) could slow down the cars in front of the red traffic light automatically.
In the long term, the transport is supposed to benefit in cities. If the cars send, for example, anonymised data to the city, could traffic turn signal have flexible. Every motorist knows the Situation: You are standing in the evening at a red light – far and wide no other car in sight. Networked traffic lights would then respond as required. The development work, the Audi traffic light provides information, for the benefit of future drivers of other brands. Good news for cities, the need for efficient traffic control on the anonymized data of large vehicle fleets.
In the future, V2I, will favor technologies such as traffic information, the automated Driving. “The city is one of the most complex environments for an Autonomous car. Still have to find the vehicle at any time, even in the rain or snow. Here is the exchange of data with the traffic infrastructure can be highly relevant,“ says hainzl Maier.
Audi traffic light information starts this year in Ingolstadt (photo: AUDI AG)
