Everyone knows how annoying it can be to hit every red light on a daily commute, and how stopping and accelerating for those pesky red lights also costs you more at the pump. Fortunately, Audi’s new Traffic Light Recognition technology may save the day. The new traffic light information system could save 238 million gallons of fuel every year by interacting with stoplights and telling drivers what speed is required to consistently hit only green lights.
Audi unveiled its Traffic Light Recognition technology at this year’s CES show in Las Vegas. How does it work? The vehicle’s in-car internet establishes a link between the car and the the traffic light network via the central traffic computer in each town or city. The system quickly figures out the traffic light change sequences in the vicinity, and on the approach to a set of lights the Driver Information System shows the driver the speed that will allow them to pass through the lights during a green phase.
If for some reason the car ends up at a red light, the system will calculate the remaining time until the next green light. The system also interacts with the vehicle’s start-stop system to make sure that the engine is switched on five seconds before the next green light.
Audi estimates that online traffic light integration has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by 15 percent, and it could save up to 238 million gallons of fuel if it was deployed throughout Germany. Audi is currently testing the system in Italy and Germany, while a market launch is currently the subject of intense analysis in the United States.