Audi to demo autonomous driving on 900km route

Audi to demo autonomous driving on 900km route

by -

One of the most anticipated developments in the automotive industry is the realization of self-piloting vehicles. We know they are coming, and we know many car makers around the world are at various stages of progress refining the technology to make it viable for day-to-day use.

Today, autonomous emergency braking and active park assist are already common features in mass market vehicles such as the Ford Focus, and it stands to reason that with improvements in sensors, computer algorithms, and control motors the scope of autonomous vehicle control will get increasingly wider.

Audi is about to give a demonstration of its readiness to roll out autonomous driving to the market by putting journalists behind the wheel of an A7 Sportback specially retrofitted with autonomous driving systems. Affectionately nicknamed ‘Jack’ by its development team, the A7 piloted driving concept is able to drive itself on highways at speeds of up to 70mph (112kph); it has the ability to make lane changes and overtake slower vehicles.

As the vehicle approaches denser urban traffic, it will prompt the driver to re-assume control of the vehicle via a series of visual and acoustic prompts. Should the driver fail to react to the prompting, the vehicle will bring itself to a full stop by the road side and activate its hazard warning lights.

A sophisticated network of sensors help the vehicle see the road. Existing long range radar sensors that serve the adaptive cruise control and blind spot warning system help the vehicle perceive its front and rear; the 360-degree vision is completed by mid-range radar sensors aimed either side of the vehicle. Laser scanners front and rear help distinguish between stationary and moving objects.

Supplementing these data are visual feeds from a forward-viewing 3D hi-res wide-angle camera and four small front- and rear-mounted cameras for a more detailed view of surroundings. The system also takes navigation data for basic vehicle orientation. Many of these sensors are already present in today’s vehicles and if they aren’t, Audi claims they are almost production ready. In fact, the company has went as far as working out the integration process and associated costings.

Journalists invited for the drive had earlier underwent the relevant training several weeks ago at the Arizona Proving Grounds to familiarize themselves with the vehicle. Each journalist will drive the vehicle for approximately 100 miles (160km) accompanied by a trained Audi professional driver.

The group flags off today from Stanford, California, and is scheduled to reach Las Vegas by tomorrow where Audi will be presenting autonomous driving together with a number of its upcoming technologies such as new user and display interfaces, infotainment systems, as well as LED and laser-matrix lighting technologies at CES 2015. A new show car will make its world premiere and an interior model of the all-new second-generation Q7 will also be shown.

Picture: Official Audi release.

1 COMMENT

Leave a Reply