We all are tired of the red lights. They become so frustrating when we are in a hurry or on our way back. They always seem to have conspired to be red just when we need them to be green. Audi engineers finally decided to do something about it and have come up with a system which will be able to tell the driver how they can make it to the signal when it is green.
The system is known as ‘Traffic Light Assist’ and can convey drivers where the next red signal is, how far and at what speed should they drive if they want it to be green when they reach it. This results in minimal stop time and less frustration as well. The information from this system is displayed on the dashboard/HUD.
Using the data from motion sensors and combining it with the speed information which is collected from the car, the drivers can see information about how they can completely bypass the red lights. It provides the user with a calculated speed which is required to reach the signal when it is green. The system will also sound the alarm of red signals in advance. The display on HUD includes a traffic light icon and a timer which ticks for the time signal is green or red.
The system, as expected, is linked to the city’s traffic light network and takes into account even small changes such as lane changing. Audi has carried out tests in Ingolstadt and Berlin in Germany, Verona in Italy and the system was also set up for the CES 2014.
Audi says; ‘’Information from the traffic light systems is transmitted to the car and visualized as graphic images on the driver information system display. ‘They show 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 phases.’ Audi has also stipulated that making use of this system results in carbon dioxide being reduced to 15 % and says; ‘In sum, this would be equivalent to about 900 million liters (237.75 million US gallons) of fuel per year, if this technology were to be implemented throughout Germany.’
The test phase which lasted for about six months and included 500 test drivers, 120 cars and three motorcycles covered a distance of 1.65 million kilometers. Looking at how the technology is progressing and things are going, we are hoping such innovations will be welcomed and encouraged! A job well-done Audi!
