Audi Traffic Light Information consists of two functions: Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory (GLOSA) and Time-to-Green. GLOSA calculates the ideal speed for getting a “green wave”. For example, if the function indicates the applicable speed limit, the next traffic light will be reached at green. Drivers do not have to accelerate unnecessarily, they are not stressed, and they drive more safely. GLOSA can also suggest reducing speed gradually about 250 meters ahead of the traffic lights so that the driver and the cars behind reach the intersection when the lights turn to green. This reduces uneconomical stop-and-go traffic. 

If stopping at a red light is unavoidable, a countdown displays the seconds remaining until the next green phase begins (Time-to-Green). Drivers can relax, take their foot off the gas pedal and save fuel. A number of studies conclude that drivers move through cities more efficiently thanks to networked traffic lights. In a pilot project, Audi was able to reduce fuel consumption by 15 percent. 

“With Audi Traffic Light Information we wish to improve convenience for drivers, increase traffic safety and encourage an economical style of driving that looks ahead,” says Andre Hainzlmaier, head of development for Apps, Connected Services and Smart City at Audi. 
“To do this, we have to predict precisely how traffic lights will behave in the next two minutes. At the same time, exact forecasts are the biggest challenge. Most signals react variably to traffic volume and continuously adapt the intervals at which they switch between red and green.” 

Audi and its project partner Traffic Technology Services (TTS) have developed a complex analytical algorithm that calculates exact predictions from three sources: from the control program of the traffic signals; from the real-time data of the traffic computer, a combination of road-occupation cameras, detector strips in the road surface, data on approaching buses and trams, and buttons that pedestrians press; as well as from historical data. The forecast algorithm improves itself continuously and learns how, for example, the traffic volume changes in morning commuter traffic or at midday when children leave nurseries and schools. 

The Audi fleet plays a decisive part in optimizing the traffic light forecasts. “The cars send anonymized data when traffic lights are crossed to an Audi backend, which checks whether the actual crossings of traffic lights correspond to the forecast data. Only after this are the traffic lights cleared for the display in the car,” Hainzlmaier explains. 

In future the cities, too, will receive useful information about their traffic light infrastructure. The data show, for example, whether cars stop unusually often at a particular intersection or whether the average waiting time is comparatively long. “We aggregate the recorded data into reports that we will make available to the city authorities. Traffic lights can then be given more efficient phasing and traffic will flow better.”

Audi Traffic Light Information premiered in 2016 in Las Vegas. Today this V2I service is available at more than 10,000 intersections in North America, including some 2,000 in Manhattan/New York City and more than 1,600 around the US capital Washington D.C. Audi is also the world’s first automotive manufacturer to network its series-production models with city traffic lights.

Audi Traffic Light Information operates in all Audi e-tron, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, Q3, Q7 and Q8 models that have been produced since mid-July 2019 (the “2020 model year”). The pre-requisites are the Audi connect Navigation & Infotainment package and the optional camera-based traffic-sign recognition.

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com

The partnership between Audi and FC Bayern München is a success story: Since 2002, the brand with the four rings has been supporting the most successful German football club. Additionally, Audi has been a shareholder of FC Bayern München AG since 2011. Joint events and initiatives have been filling this collaboration with life. The Audi Cup, which in 2019 was held for the sixth time at the Allianz Arena, ranks among Europe’s high-caliber preparatory tournaments. 

“FC Bayern München perfectly fits Audi’s new strategic direction,” says Hildegard Wortmann, Board of Management Member of AUDI AG for Marketing and Sales. The two strong brands are known for premium experiences worldwide. “We want to be close to our fans, customers and potential customers. As FC Bayern München’s exclusive automobile partner, we have the opportunity to present electric mobility and connectivity, and to turn them into tangible experiences.” Alexander Seitz, Board of Management Member of AUDI AG for Finance, China and Legal Affairs: “Our collaboration with FC Bayern as one of the top-flight international clubs with 650 million fans worldwide and 135 million fans just in China opens up new, joint marketing opportunities, especially including China, the most important growth market for Audi.” 

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bayern München AG, says: “I am delighted about the early extension of our partnership with Audi. For FC Bayern, this agreement marks an important strategic move going forward. FC Bayern and Audi have been working together confidently, respectably and to the advantage of both brands for more than a decade and a half. Now it is assured that this partnership will continue throughout the nearly ten years ahead.”

Andreas Jung, Executive Board Member of FC Bayern München AG for Marketing, says: “Both Audi and FC Bayern value a forward-thinking focus and innovations on the one hand as well as consistency and dependability on the other. Both partners share a commitment to being ‘number one’ in Germany. We greatly look forward to many joint activations, to many joint events and to many more joint years with Audi.”

For the entire fleet provided by Audi to FC Bayern, an average maximum level of 95 grams of CO2/km has been agreed to for the entire term of the agreement. This practically equates to the legal requirement to be met by manufacturers’ fleets as of January 2020. At least half of all vehicles will be electrified in the future. 

By prolonging their agreement, both partners have a long-term planning horizon for further activities designed for sustainability. In terms of substance, the commitment is put on a new basis: The vehicle partnership under which all of FC Bayern’s stars and officials drive Audi models is turning into a strategic collaboration in a joint effort of advancing the areas of electrification and use of innovative marketing activities and dialog platforms. At the Allianz Arena, Audi’s visibility and the Audi experience will be enhanced for visitors, while at FC Bayern’s new flagship store in the heart of Munich, a diverse Audi offering will be available. Other projects of the future collaboration include charging columns, plus test drives around the Allianz Arena and at the FC Bayern campus and training facilities at Säbener Strasse.

Moreover, the joint commitment of AUDI AG and FC Bayern München is being intensively lived within the company’s own “Audi Fanclub FC Bayern.” With a membership of more than 6,000, it is the club’s biggest fan club worldwide. For the employees, the sponsoring commitment again encompasses numerous activities as well, such as employee specials at football matches, the Audi Cup and at meet-&-greet opportunities on the occasion of vehicle handovers to the players. 

The new strategic partnership also includes the opportunity to carry out individual projects with other brands of the Volkswagen Group. 

Audi has also extended the partnership with FC Bayern’s basketball players, which has existed since 2011, into 2023. “We are delighted to continue partnering with this young and trendy team in the coming years,” says Hildegard Wortmann. “The home matches at the Audi Dome and other joint events provide Audi with outstanding opportunities to inspire the enthusiasm of fans, customers and potential customers – especially from a young and digitally savvy target group – for our brand and products.” Audi is planning to expand its activities as a mobility partner in the coming years, focused on electrification, digitalization and mobility services. Players and officials will continue to drive Audi cars.

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com

Audi is setting up more than 4,500 charging points for battery-operated vehicles, thereby contributing to the energy transition in private transport. “Establishing such extensive charging infrastructure is a completely new challenge,” Maximilian Huber describes his task. The project manager for site charging is not only in charge of building the charging points but also the energy manager and software provider for the comprehensive charging solution at the automotive manufacturer’s sites. At the main plant in Ingolstadt alone, there will be 3,500 charging points available in the final development. There will be 1,000 charging points in Neckarsulm, just under 100 in Brussels and Győr. Likewise, charging infrastructure will be built at the factory in San José Chiapa. The company already offers expansive charging capacities at the training centers at Munich Airport. The entire project has a total budget of up to EUR 100 million.

A charging concept on this scale is unique in Germany so far – and requires meticulous preparation and largely independent energy management. A separate project team has therefore been preparing and structuring the concept for the implementation since the middle of 2017. The fundamental decision to electrify ten percent of all parking spaces was already made a year earlier. “Such lead times are necessary because the planning and expansion of the energy supply on this scale alone takes multiple years,” explains Huber. Carrying out the setup during ongoing production at the locations is a particular challenge.

The project team is responsible for planning the entire strategy, investment, and concept, and manages the setup and operation of the charging infrastructure as well as the billing of charging procedures at the Audi sites. In this context, the charging points are expanded to suit the needs of the employees and other people using the parking lot, the charging infrastructure is designed accordingly, operating rules are set, and a hotline and support are provided. Recording that complies with calibration law and invoicing of the charging procedures are further important aspects.

At the sites in Brussels, Ingolstadt, and Neckarsulm, charging infrastructure with a total power input of 21 megawatts is already available. This corresponds to the power consumption of a small town with 14,000 inhabitants. This includes 600 charging points with an output of up to 22 kilowatts (kW) and 60 direct current charging points with an output between 50 and 350 kW. By the middle of 2022, there will be 4,500 charging points, each with an output of up to 22 kW, and approx. 50 more with an output of up to 350 kW each at the plant sites alone. A dynamic and intelligent load-management system will be controlling all power input across sites this year already, so the power connection does not need be expanded.

In addition, there is the equipment of the three Audi Training Center locations at Munich airport. Audi’s largest individual charging park with a power input of 2.1 megawatts is connected to the grid here. In connection with the construction of the new ATC IV building, the solar power generated is used for the charging procedure in combination with a battery buffer storage device. “It’s not just about energy supply, though,” says Huber. The project team has also created its own navigation map on the basis of Google Maps that allows employees to see in real time where charging terminals are available. Invoicing via online systems and the integration in an internal settlement system are further important services. 

In the medium term, it is being checked how to make the acquired expertise available to other companies that need to expand their charging infrastructure. This is the next step on the company’s journey from a pure automotive manufacturer to a mobility service provider. Audi has set itself the goal to become the leading CO2-neutral premium provider. By 2050 at the latest, the company’s operations are to be entirely CO2-neutral. 

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com

Open the door, take a seat, and get away from the urban stress: The fully automated Audi AI:ME represents a personal “third living space,” alongside our homes and workplaces, that is familiar with the desires and needs of its users. Passengers can use eye tracking to communicate with the show car intuitively and have it order their favorite food, for example. They can also enjoy a wellness experience in the AI:ME: A pair of VR goggles in the car allows the occupants to enjoy a virtual flight across a spectacular mountain landscape. The technology adapts virtual content to the movements of the vehicle in real time. The result: Passengers can fully relax and get away from their hectic day-to-day lives. They return to reality when they have arrived at their destination. The ordered food was delivered on time, coordinated by the AI:ME on the basis of the users’ personal preferences and the car’s navigation data. Journalists can test this concept of an empathetic mobility partner as part of an automated drive at CES 2020.

Audi Intelligence Experience: the empathetic car

A car that thinks for itself and is even empathetic? The “Audi Intelligence Experience” shows how it’s done: The car knows its user and their habits and uses intelligent functions combined with artificial intelligence to increase the passengers’ safety, wellbeing, and comfort. The self-learning navigation system is already integrated in the current generation of the MMI systems. It saves preferred destinations, connects them with the date, time, and current traffic situation, and derives suggested routes from this data. In the future, the car will also conduct a precise analysis as to the functions and settings that its user prefers, ranging from the seat position, media, route guidance, and temperature to the fragrancing of the interior. After a short time, the empathetic Audi is familiar with the user’s preferences and implements them autonomously. If desired, it even bases its settings on the user’s condition by observing their driving style and vital functions. At CES 2020, visitors can experience the basic functions of the Audi Intelligence Experience in a prototype.

Two displays, two innovations: spacial vision and the on-demand offer

A navigation arrow that points exactly into the side road where the destination is located: This will already become reality in an exhibit in 2020 with the 3D mixed reality head-up display. Audi will present the new technology it developed in cooperation with Samsung at CES. Just like with a 3D television, two views are generated of each picture: one pixel for the left eye and the neighboring pixel for the right eye. To the driver, the pictures of the 3D mixed reality head-up display appear to be floating at a distance of 8 to 10 meters; through clever representation, the apparent distance is even increased to over 70 meters. Advantage: The eyes, accustomed to a long-range view, do not have to refocus.

The transparent display on demand is a further highlight: The screen is 15 cm high, 122 cm wide, and partially embedded into the instrument panel. It offers two layers: a transparent OLED display and a black layer for a particularly deep shade of black. The highlight: Sections of the display that are not required for showing information remain transparent. They give the impression of a glass pane and thus offer an unobstructed view of the road.

The future of the automobile is fully electric and intelligently connected

More than just a pie in the sky: The current Audi models offer networking at its finest. The new 3rd generation modular infotainment platform, or MIB 3 for short, is the core. Its main processor operates ten times faster than the MIB 2. This provides significant improvements in terms of route planning and traffic forecasts, for example. Audi will also present the latest innovations in the area of lighting technology at CES 2020. Should the driver get tired, special light can provide a remedy: Blue, cool white light, for example, has a stimulating and invigorating effect. The Audi project “Human-Centric Lighting” illustrates how the way you feel can be influenced by targeted light colors to support the passengers’ concentration and memory, for example. 

The portfolio of the exhibits shown at the Audi booth at CES range from the Audi AI:ME vision vehicle and the near-production-level show car Audi Q4 e-tron concept with a 12.3-inch touchscreen all the way to the Audi e-tron Sportback(combined electric power consumption in kWh/100 km: 26.0–21.9 (WLTP); 22.7–20.6 (NEDC); combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 0) with digital matrix LED headlights, which will already be available in the spring of 2020. 

More information is available from the Audi Media Center at:
https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/ces-2020-exclusive-12281

Article source: www.audi-mediacenter.com