Audi Traffic Light Assist: never stop at a red again

So,has Audi found a solution to traffic light hell? A way to turn our cities into no-red-light districts? Rory Buckeridge, a man who doesn't like to be kept waiting, scurried over to Berlin to find out.

It’s probably a truism to suggest that there’s something intrinsically less stressful about traffic lights when you’re staring at them from behind the wheel of a factory fresh Audi. But we’re in Berlin, sticking a pristine, white A3 into drive to get hands on with Audi’s attempt to take the sting out of the commuter’s bane, with their Online Traffic Light Information System. 

Currently being trialled in Berlin, Verona and Las Vegas, Audi have hooked 700 of the German capital’s 2,500 traffic lights to the networked system, which combines GPS with on-board wi-fi internet to link car, city and traffic light. Then, an onboard system tells the driver, via a simple graphic on the dash, the phase of the traffic light ahead.

As Audi's Chair of the Board of Management, Rupert Stadler told us, "For us, as car guys, we have to understand the DNA of a city. And if we understand the DNA of a city and decode it, then we are in the driver’s seat to organise our business models – what could be our offer? An intelligent offer for our premium customers, and this is what it’s all about."

Knowing that, the car can actively plan ahead. So if the light is going to be green, it’ll suggest the optimum speed (usually around 30mph) to be able to breeze straight through. If it’s going to be red, it’ll tell you, so there’s no need to approach it like an NCAP crash test, hoping a green’s a millisecond away.
Once you’ve stopped at a red, if it’ll change in under ten seconds, the car keeps the engine running, but if it’s more than ten, it operates the engine stop/start system, restarting it five seconds before the light will phase back to green.

Audi claims that if implemented, this could reduce CO2 emissions by 15 per cent, and save 900 million litres of fuel in Germany alone. But it should also help with congestion, as you can squeeze on average an extra two cars through every light phase.
And you do find that this system genuinely changes the way you drive. Knowing that a light is going to stay red, you don’t hoon up to it in the hopes you’ll get lucky. And similarly, knowing it’ll go green the moment you arrive means there’s no hurry to get there.

But the best bit is the auto start. The engine rumbling back on becomes a physical cue you’re about to ease away, so after a while you simply stop balefully starting at the light and just wait for the blip of the ignition, which melts away some serious red light stress

Audi Online traffic light system helps drivers hit the green lights

One of life's small but satisfying pleasures is hitting the sweet spot while driving across town and catching all the green lights. At the moment, having that happen is a matter of luck, but Audi is developing a system that will make never getting caught by a red light an everyday thing as a way of speeding up traffic while improving fuel efficiency and cutting emissions.

Driving through a string of green lights isn't a question of gremlins or clean living, but of timing. Modern traffic signals operate on a system of preset timers. Sometimes these change depending on the time of day or, as is increasingly common, because the traffic system reacts to changes in the pattern of car movements. In other words, the trick to an uninterrupted journey is to figure out how the lights are timed at that moment and drive at the right speed, so you always hit the intersections when it’s green.

The Audi system works by taking the guesswork out of the equation. Using Audi connect and the Multi Media Interface (MMI) system, the car uses the internet to contact the area’s central traffic computer and asks it for the automated traffic light sequences. From these, the system calculates the best speed needed to hit as many green lights as possible. This speed, as well as red, green and amber icons, are displayed to the driver via the Driver Information System (DIS) located in the central instrument cluster. If the car is already at a red light, it provides a countdown until green and overrides the start/stop mechanism to bring the engine online five seconds before it’s time to go.

One bonus of this is that not only will the system speed up traffic, but improve fuel economy and reduce emissions, since the biggest enemy of fuel efficiency is the constant braking and acceleration of city driving. If the cars keep running, that saves fuel and cuts pollution. Audi says that if used consistently, the system could produce a 15 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and save 900 million liters (238 million gal) of petrol annually in Germany alone.

According to Audi, the system, which would be integrated into its Audi connect infotainment system, is production ready and could be fitted to every Audi model currently in production, pending the approval of local legislation.

A prototype of the system was shown off at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in an Audi A6 Saloon, which ran on the city roads, with testing continuing there using 50 sets of traffic lights. In addition, Audi is also testing the system with about 60 sets of traffic lights in Verona, Italy, while 25 cars are being tested in Berlin with 1,000 lights. Audi has yet to release performance figures, but it will be interesting to see how the system operates in the real world.

New Audi TT and Audi TTS unveiled with new virtual cockpit

Audi has unveiled the new Audi TT and Audi TTS at the Geneva Motor Show 2014. Both cars feature a revolutionary new virtual cockpit which moves the entire media system behind the wheel.

The car is a radical departure from previous models taking clear inspiration from Audi's recent concept cars and the Audi R8 with sharper lines and a more muscular profile.

Where things get really interesting however is inside the car: Audi has fitted the Audi TT with an all-new virtual cockpit which moves the entire media and navigation system behind the wheel in the form of a large digital dashboard.

The display can show anything from the sat nav, media information or in-depth car settings letting you adjust the lighting profile of the Audi TT's optional Matrix LED headlights.

The speedo and rev counter will change in size depending on three modes, 'Classic' mode gives the rev counter and speedometer equal presence on the screen, 'Infotainment' minimises the dials whilst for those that buy the Audi TTS you'll get a third 'Sport' mode which lets the dials dominate the display.

The system can be controlled either via a new wheel-mounted control panel or the traditional MMI interface down below the gear stick.

Audi has retained the iconic 'turbine' air conditioning vents but brought them into the digital age by placing the controls actually in the middle of the vents themselves.

Engines are equally as high-tech with the Audi TT launching with a 2.0-litre TDI that develops an impressive 380nm of torque and will send the car from 0-62mph in just 7.2 seconds.

Of course if speed is your only goal then the Audi TTS will feature a 2.0-litre TFSI that produces 310bhp and will sprint the car from 0-62mph in a lightning fast 4.7 seconds.

There's no word yet on when the Audi TT and Audi TTS will launch yet, or indeed how much they'll cost but as soon as we know we'll update this story.