Audi debuts industry-first traffic light countdown

If you pull up to a traffic light in a 2017 Audi, feel free to change the radio station, check out the driver next to you, or clean mustard off your shirt – your auto will keep track of when the light goes green. This information should allow cities to locate bottlenecks created by poorly timed lights and improve traffic. The V2I system will enable the wireless exchange of critical safety and operational data between vehicles and highway infrastructure, and is intended primarily to help in reducing accidents, as well as letting drivers be more aware of other critical driving safety situations and information.

According to Automotive News, select 2017 Q7 SUVs along with A4 sedans built after June will be equipped with so-called “vehicle-to-infrastructure” or “V-to-I” technology.

To keep drivers from trying to get a jump on the light turning green and possibly getting T-boned by a red light runner, the countdown timer (right, showing 8 seconds to green), doesn’t display the last 3 seconds.

Malhotra said Audi tested the service on 100 cars for over a year. The company said traffic light information system is only the first step in V2I integration.

Since Audi is processing the data in real time, the feature is dependent on an in-car LTE connection (via an Audi Connect subscription). The service costs $199 for 6 months or $750 for 30 months.

The infrastructure component of Traffic light information is the most complex part and will roll out gradually, in selected cities and metropolitan areas in the United States. Never mind that 43 of 50 states have broadly written anti-texting laws that don’t allow for things like this, that let the driver know how long until the light turns back to green. Audi hasn’t said which cities will be part of the initial rollout just yet but says it expects to have the technology available in five to seven USA cities this year, with more to follow later on. The company wouldn’t commit to what the next one would be, but Malhotra suggested a few possibilities: using traffic data to make Audi’s stop-start system smarter, for instance, or to suggest the best speed to hit the most green lights.