Clever drivers can watch the pedestrian walk signals to guess when an intersection traffic light will change from red to green, but Audi drivers can use a new communications technology in large urban areas to know how fast to drive to catch green lights without needing to stop.
The technology, known as Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory, uses vehicle-to-infrastructure communication to recommend the ideal speed for drivers to “surf a green wave” and reduce the number of times they must stop for lights.
Audi launched the technology in 2016 in 13 markets, covering 4,700 intersections in areas including Dallas; Houston; Kansas City, Kan.; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; Washington; and northern Virginia. It has been extended to four new areas: Denver; Gainesville, Fla.; Orlando; and White Plains, N.Y.
The technology functions through the Audi Connect Prime communications suite and receives its information via the vehicle’s onboard 4G LTE data connection.
When a broadcasting traffic light is red, the vehicle’s instrument cluster or head-up display shows how much time remains until the signal changes to green. Audi says the added information helps reduce driver stress.
The technology debuted for the 2017 model year on the Audi A4 and Q7, expanded for the 2018 model year to the A5 and Q5, and for the 2019 model year to all Audi nameplates except the A3, TT and R8.
[“source=autonews”]
