[Otto]

Audi's new Smart City Traffic Light Assistance system, recently unveiled as a prototype at CES, will help drivers avoid red lights by telling them exactly how fast they need to go in order to catch a green light. It will also tell drivers how long they will have to sit at a red light.

Audi says that this technology will cut emissions by 15% as it works with Audi's start-stop technology.

Audi says that the system is "production ready and could be fitted to every Audi model in the range subject to the necessary government legislation." So this could be in production vehicles in 2015 or maybe even sooner.

 

[audifanatic]

interesting

wonder if you could get this in a cellphone app

becaues i HATE red lights

Audi is really inventing some weird driving tech

 

[Quatto]

I like the idea of this.
But it better be instant and not have a delay from the time the actual signal light changes to when it shows on the dash.

 

[audifanatic]

i wonder how they do it.. how do they know the patterns of the red lights.. i thought the programs are different for each street and light

 

[Quatto]

i wonder how they do it.. how do they know the patterns of the red lights.. i thought the programs are different for each street and light

Good point, the patterns to change from light to light so im not really sure how they will set the system up for that, it's a good question

 

[Otto]

I can't tell if this technology would do more to increase or decrease the rate of accidents. Would people not speed up in order to get through green lights or yellow lights? Even more so than in the current system since they know they have to speed up instead of going a normal pace and then seeing the light turn yellow.

It's information, but is it that useful?

 

[Arabay]

unless their hooking into city data of the light scheduales.. useless if you live out in the rocks

 

[Quatto]

I can't tell if this technology would do more to increase or decrease the rate of accidents. Would people not speed up in order to get through green lights or yellow lights? Even more so than in the current system since they know they have to speed up instead of going a normal pace and then seeing the light turn yellow.

It's information, but is it that useful?

When it comes to government agencies, insurance companies, etc, they will see that it does. But it wont in my opinion

 

[audifanatic]

yea i'd be interested to see how this works

need to master those lights

flooring it to the next light rarely works for me...

 

[Otto]

I don't think it is going to make cars safer. The information will be convenient, if anything I think that the technology will end up being low impact on more/less car crashes.

It seems like cars are going to have so many programs to help you drive the car soon. It just seems a little ridiculous.

"Park here. Speed up for the red light. There is something behind you. You are drifting lanes. You are asleep." Shouldn't you be able to figure most of that out yourself.

 

[Quatto]

Just imagine what might happen when people get too used to it and all of a sudden some bug hits the system and causes parts to fail, some people wont know what to do

 

[audifanatic]

I wouldnt say that,,, Its a system that detects red lights and suggests a speed

If it stops working you just drive normally..

 

[Quatto]

that is true but i think the transition from depending on a system to actually being fully aware might be be as smooth for some.

 

[audifanatic]

i sometimes wait at my street for the lights to stay green before i merge on

i feel like i have a better chance of getting all green lights in that matter. if i turn onto a street and wait for a red. all the following lights seem to be red

 

[Arabay]

the reason cars are turning towards systems and software is because people dont want to drive. They want to play on their smart phones, oh wait sorry infotainment. Why do you think its become such a massive factor as of late...

when virtual consumes reality it becomes reality...

 

[Quatto]

the reason cars are turning towards systems and software is because people dont want to drive. They want to play on their smart phones, oh wait sorry infotainment. Why do you think its become such a massive factor as of late...

when virtual consumes reality it becomes reality...

that is part of it and maybe to make roads safer, if there are automated systems controlling things then human error just wont happen, maybe on a far smaller scale.

 

[audifanatic]

the reason cars are turning towards systems and software is because people dont want to drive. They want to play on their smart phones, oh wait sorry infotainment. Why do you think its become such a massive factor as of late...

when virtual consumes reality it becomes reality...

what has the world come to

now i dont like driving in traffic.. but i still look forward to driving

if you dont look forward to driving you need to stop buying boring cars..

 

[Otto]

There are people who don't want to drive. Autonomous driving systems are good for them, but for people who do like driving these systems don't really add much to the experience. Until cars are actually able to drive all by themselves, I think that technologies like this aren't making drivers better, they are making them worse and less skilled.

 

[audifanatic]

the only way to make autonomous driving work is if they get their own lane. and that is going to be super costly

its going to be tough to implement...

 

[Quatto]

the only way to make autonomous driving work is if they get their own lane. and that is going to be super costly

its going to be tough to implement...

That is true, not sure how exactly all this stuff will work but it might be best if they can work up to having autonomous cars be able to mix in with other human drivers on the road