Audi have just launched a new Traffic Light Information (TLI) technology that tell a driver when the traffic light ahead will go green. In partnership with the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, Audi’s TLI is the first time vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication tech has been added to a production car and made available in the US market.
The Traffic Light Information feature appears in the vehicle as a countdown timer that appears in the Audi Virtual Cockpit and in the HUD. So as the driver approaches a connected intersection with a red traffic light, the TLI icon and a countdown to green timer appear to let know how long the driver has got until it’s time to go again.
Using the 4G LTE connection for Audi Connect that’s already present in the A4, Traffic Light Information utilizes real-time traffic light timing data, pulled directly from the very same traffic management center that sets the timing of all of the traffic lights in the region, and combines that with GPS data so the A4 can calculate exactly which traffic light driver is approaching, whether that light is red or green, and how long until it changes.
Armed with this information, the driver can decide whether he needs to stay alert and ready to go because the light will change in just a few seconds or if he has got time to fiddle with the radio, attend to a child in the back seat or do anything other than stare at the traffic light, willing it to change. The timers disappear from the Virtual Cockpit and HUD at the four-second mark—the driver’s cue to look away from the displays and direct attention back to the road ahead.
TLI is now available on new 2017 A4 and Q7 models, and will be added to future Audi vehicles including A5 and Q5 models early next year.
