Audi Autonomous A7 Concept
The latest version of the Piloted A7
Concept has learned to adapt its driving for a more natural interaction with
other road users.
The company claims that their research
car with the nickname ‘Jack’ has not only learn how to execute all of its
driving manoeuvres perfectly on public roads, but also show consideration for
other drivers on the road.
More specifically ‘Jack’ now overtakes
trucks keeping a slightly longer gap between them and indicates upcoming lane
changes by activating its turn signal and moving closer to the lane marking
first, in the same way human drivers would do.
This adaptive style is apparent when
other vehicles want to merge into the lane, with the car "deciding"
whether to accelerate or brake depending on which action will handle the
specific traffic conditions more smoothly for everyone on the road.
The brain of the autonomous driving
system, called zFAS by Audi, uses state-of-the-art processors to read the
signals coming from all the sensors in real-time as well as to create a model
of the car’s surroundings. This model mimics the current traffic conditions as
accurately as possible, according to Audi, and lets the brain of the system
calculate its moves in advance.
Audi is currently testing the piloted
drive tech on the A9 autobahn, Germany’s first test site where the
infrastructure communicates with an autonomous car. In addition to the car’s
sensors, the road will feature special road signs, made to be more easily
identified by the car from greater distances with Audi also testing elements of
the future communications standard 5G.
Audi will also work with the city of
Ingolstadt, testing road construction methods and the use of sensors in
intersection zones from 2017 with official test operations to begin in 2018.
