Alexander Dobrindt, Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure of Germany satisfied himself of the technical capabilities of the Audi A7 piloted driving concept on Friday. The Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure accepted an invitation from Audi to experience the technology of piloted driving first-hand.
Minister of Transport Dobrindt after his ride in the test vehicle named “Jack” officially declared a section of Autobahn A9 to be a high-tech superhighway. It will serve as a test bed for the networked automobile of the future.
The function for piloted driving in traffic jams, which Audi is currently moving to production, is based on existing assistance systems such as Audi adaptive cruise control and traffic jam assist. At speeds between 0 and 65 km/h, the system will take over acceleration, braking and steering from the driver, if desired, providing some relief from stress in congested highway traffic. When the traffic jam dissolves or the road ends, the computer prompts the driver to take over the driving again.
The super brain of piloted driving is the central driver assistance control unit (zFAS). It uses state-of-the-art, high-performance processors to evaluate the signals from all sensors in real time and compute manoeuvres. A radar system scans the area in front of the car while a video camera detects lane markings, guardrails, pedestrians and other vehicles. A laser scanner delivers high-precision data about objects up to 80 meters away.
Furthermore, twelve ultrasonic sensors and four cameras monitor the entire area surrounding the car. The zFAS then uses all these sensor data to compute a model of the surroundings that describes the prevailing traffic situation in great detail. This enables very early detection by the system of vehicles moving into the lane in front of the vehicle, for example.
This means that Audi already has the series technology for the first piloted driving systems available. The new functions made possible because of them can significantly expand the role of the car as an emotional, convenient and modern living space. Audi is fully devoted to this issue because in addition to the increase in safety, the gain in convenience brings along a substantial customer benefit with it.
