http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/12/1...raffic-signals



A red light can be a stressful affair. Idling at the intersection, waiting for the light to turn green, your brain reminds you that you would rather do anything else. But do you have time to check your phone? Remove your jacket? Pick your wallet up from off the floor? To shift your gaze away from the light risks angry honking, or worse, from the line of cars behind you. And so you stare at the red light for what feels like an eternity.

But as I drove an 2017 Audi A4 down the Las Vegas Strip, the seconds I usually spend waiting melted away. At each intersection, the car displayed a countdown clock of the seconds remaining before the light would turn green. It told me exactly how much time I had to check my phone, change the radio station, or gawk at the fountains outside the Bellagio. Suddenly one of the many minor stresses of driving a car had faded gently into the background.SUDDENLY ONE OF THE MANY STRESSES OF DRIVING A CAR FADED INTO THE BACKGROUNDThis week Audi demonstrated the first working public example of what it calls vehicle-to-infrastructure (“V2I”) technology — a feature that lets Audi cars communicate with a municipal traffic system to make intelligent predictions about traffic conditions. The feature, which is available in Audi A4, Q7, and Allroad models manufactured after June 1st, is now available at most of the 1,300 traffic signals overseen by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. If you have one of these new Audis, you can try it in Las Vegas today.

Audi is a luxury brand, and having more time to yourself is a luxury few would turn down. The promise of V2I is that it gives you back the time you spend waiting at red lights by putting you in control. A minute here, a minute there — it adds up. And if you can’t get a lot done in that short window of time, at least the size of that window is no longer a mystery. (Also: you probably have enough time to look at your phone! Who doesn’t want to look at their phone?)I traveled to Vegas last week to try the technology to myself — and to talk with Audi and government officials about the promise of cloud-connected cities and vehicles working in tandem. To Audi, V2I is first and foremost a way to sell Audis: it brings a high-tech sheen to the boring old instrument panel, and helps upsell customers on the subscription packages required to access new features. (V2I is included as part of Audi Connect Prime, which costs $200 for six months of service.)

But V2I also heralds the arrival of an era where cars talk to cities, and vice versa, for the benefit of both. As more municipalities make real-time traffic data available, it will increasingly be available to you on your vehicle’s dashboard. Government officials who work in traffic management are optimistic that over time, technology like this can reduce congestion around town.TAKING ADVANTAGE OF LAS VEGAS’ MODERN INFRASTRUCTUREAudi rolled out V2I first in Las Vegas because it’s a newer city with more modern infrastructure than many of its American peers. It also benefits from tight regional integration among municipalities, making the technology easier to deploy across a large region. “We are a state that’s getting **** done,” says Angela Castro, senior director of government affairs for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. “We’re not faking it.”

Castro says the RTC began working to make real-time data available to auto manufacturers in the belief it will make roads safer and less congested. When enough drivers have access to V2I technology, she said, real-time data will identify better routes for drivers automatically (a la Waze) and alert them to accidents and other emergencies. Any auto manufacturer can apply to use the data Audi is using for V2I, she said — Audi was simply the first to do so.Automakers are racing to add features that give them the appearance of a tech edge — see also Cadillac, which will introduce “vehicle-to-vehicle” tech next year that attempts to improve road safety by broadcasting a car’s position to other cars, giving theme early warning about sudden stops and other dangers.

Rick Whittemore, Audi’s connected vehicle portfolio manager, told me and a handful of other journalists assembled for a test drive that V2I would help us relax as we drove. “You’ll come up to an intersection, you’ll see you have 60 seconds to wait before the light changes. Your face will relax, your shoulders will relax. Maybe you’ll even take your hands off the wheel. It allows you a little relaxation in the middle of your crazy day.”ORDINARILY, I WOULDN’T DRIVE DOWN LAS VEGAS BOULEVARD TO RELAXOrdinarily, I wouldn’t relax by driving down Las Vegas Boulevard. Its eight lanes are congested day and night, and the traffic often moves at a crawl. If you plan on making a left turn, God help you: the lights are often timed to 2- or even 3-minute cycles.

It’s this last pain point that V2I is meant to ease. And so I slid into the Audi, adjusted my mirrors, and set out from Vegas’ Traffic Management Center onto the streets of Las Vegas.

In the A4, the traditional instrument panel is replaced with what Audi calls (deep sigh) “the virtual cockpit.” It’s a 12.3-inch digital display that by default shows you the traditional speedometer and tachometer — but changes in real time to highlight the current speed limit, vehicle information (your door is open!), and the navigation system.

When you’re in Las Vegas, the virtual cockpit is where you’ll find the V2I integration. As you approach a connected signal, you’ll see an illustration of a red light on the display, accompanied by a countdown counter. When the countdown is over, the virtual red light disappears from the display, and the actual traffic signal turns green.As I drove down the Strip, V2I offered reliable guidance at almost every light. Some signals still weren’t connected to the system — Audi says it does a quality assurance analysis of the predictions at every signal for bringing it online. But most of the signals I approached were connected, and Audi accurately displayed the time remaining before the light changed.

Here are some things I did while waiting for lights to change in Las Vegas: I checked my Twitter notifications. I took pictures with my iPhone camera. I recorded short video clips on Snapchat. I fiddled with the audio system. I watched the people walking up and down Las Vegas Boulevard. By the end of my roughly 25 minutes of driving, I was paying more attention to the red light on my dashboard than I was to the actual traffic signal.

For the most part, V2I struck me as a fun novelty. But I also found it somewhat distracting. The difference between a traditional instrument panel and a “virtual cockpit” is that the latter fairly demands your attention by virtue of the many streams of information it is constantly making available to you. It didn’t feel unsafe, exactly, but it did divide my attention between the road and the instrument panel, and it’s easy to see how that could go wrong.A NOVELTY THAT CAN SOMETIMES FEEL DISTRACTINGIt may be that the instrument panel is simply the wrong place for V2i information. Audi has integrated a basic heads-up display into the windshield into some models, and in time I can imagine seeing a countdown timer positioned on the windshield near the actual traffic signal. Today’s infotainment systems feel as if they are designed to take the driver’s eyes off the road as much as possible — and that’s a difficult trend to endorse, even when the information being provided is valuable.

Still, Audi’s first effort with V2I is designed to be used primarily while the vehicle isn’t moving. And in those moments, it worked as advertised nearly all of the time. Audi says it is currently in discussions with at least 10 other cities interested in bringing V2I to their roads. And when enough connected cars are on the road, it may be able to bypass municipal signals entirely by crowdsourcing the data, the company said. That could let the company roll out V2I to dozens more cities in a relatively short amount of time.

So often we hear about car technology only as a vague promise about a future benefit. The most interesting thing about V2I is that it’s available now — and it won’t be confined to Las Vegas, or to new Audis, for much longer.

 

Thanks for sharing. Interesting device. I have a feeling that more luxury/upmarket vehicles will soon offer it at least as an option, if not standard.

 

I agree.

Also, I noticed that Audi is upping their game as far as technology is concerned. I have owned 3 different Audis from 2004 to 2015 and the tech really improved by leaps every time. Google maps in my 2015 S5 made the Nav map in my RC-F look ancient. I can only imagine the newest versions in the speedometer area. Even American cars are catching up and might be even ahead.

Lexus needs to catch up.

 

I don't see what the big deal is sitting a light knowing how much time there is left before it changes. How does make your Audi more luxurious. With that said, a majority of traffic lights in the GTA have countdown timers on the walk/don't want signals. It does not always work as I just described but there are some lights that just start counting down tbe moment it turns green and then turns to red.

I do like the idea of the car knowing how long it will take to get to the light and then it turns green for you.

 

I live in Vegas but I don't have a A4 lol.

But first thing comes to mind that if the timer is really accurate, one can take adavatage of it for a stop light drag race! This could take half second of reaction time since there is no need for reaction

 

totally off topic but how do you like th rc f vs your S5? (Did u trade the S5 for it?) only had the S5 a short time or????

 

When we move towards autonomous vehicles, it will be absolutely necessary for vehicles to talk with infrastructure. I think this is a huge stepping stone in that regard, and Audi is laying the groundwork, even if it isn't that useful to drivers now. However, I understand that it also shows you when the next light in front of you will change to red, so you know not to keep accelerating and wasting fuel. You know you can just coast, or you know you can gun it.

 

Interesting gimmick. I don't see the safety benefits though. I wonder what the cost breakdown is per signal? The benefits would have to be more than the cost.

Most of the Cities I'm familiar with have very low budgets for traffic signals. They don't vote so the local politicians under fund them and also the maintenance and manpower. Only when the Feds provide a funding source to signals do they get upgraded, usually more then 10 yrs down the road.

Audi must be providing the majority of funds to get this tech launched. I wouldn't ever expect that this will be adopted except for a few larger Cities with big funding help. $400/yr for a subscription?

 

But do I need this technology as a driver? Is this a good thing? Oh--I have 30 seconds to check my email before the light changes--I don't see that as a feature that the driving public needs; quite the opposite. And can there be a glitch whereby the car says the light will change and then it doesn't? How many people are going to blindly go by what the dash says, without looking up at the light, and just go ahead thru the intersection?

 

True. The system won't necessarily tell you if the intersection is actually clear on the green light, or if some idiot is going to run the red light from the side and T-Bone you. And, of course, emergency fire and police vehicles always have the right-of-way, regardless of the light cycle. So, it always pays to actually LOOK.

 

I believe the countdown in the instrument cluster shows 6, 5, 4 and then goes blank. It does not count down past 4 so that the driver has to look up to see the light change. I also think that it will still be second nature to check the light because you have to look up to drive. People wont just keep looking down while accelerating.

 

Yes--you have to look up to drive. And more and more people seem to fail to realize this--which is where my concern comes from....

 

I only had the S5 for 1 year and 6 months. I traded in my IS-F for it. I bought it brand new and it came with all the available options including the black optic option. It was a fun and very balanced car. The DCT was fast and aggressive on the downshift specially. I actually miss the artificially induced backifiring. Also, quattro is definitely better putting down the power and very helpful during winter.
I would have loved the S5 IF I did not come from a V8 beast like the IS-F. Stock for stock, the IS-F is faster and handles better than the S5 as it is a little heavier. The S5 is very refined but can be aggressive depending on the mode you are in. Also, the tech is way ahead as I mentioned in my earlier posting The IS-F is rawer, stiffer and more muscle car like which I loved. And my F was fully bolted and I can only achieved the same performance with my S5 is if I tuned it. This is where I started to have buyers remorse for the S5. My fully bolted IS-F was maintained at the dealership and they did not give me any hassle about my mods. If I tuned my S5, there is a high probability that I would flagged by Audi corporate which is called TD1. This voids my warrantly.
A lot of people love the handsome design of the S5 but after the first month of ownership I found it boring and outdated. I was thinking of moving to the RS5 at this point but I saw an RC-F on the road. I was smitten like my S5 never would do to me. At this point in time,I had the S5 dropped already with spacers extending out the rotor arm wheels. Still I was bored and longed for a more current body design. Needless to say, I sold the S5 and bought a brand new RC-F despite this deal setting me back almost 10 grand.
The RC-F is definitely a notch above the S5 in terms of speed,performance, styling ( subjective) and handling. It puts down power really well almost as well quattro from a dig. It is very refined like the S5 and becomes a monster in sports plus. I still prefer the downshifting of the DCT but the RC-F is not bad at all in this area. I would say that the tech is better in the S5 because of google maps and I prefer the Audi dial over the touch pad in the RC-F.
And lastly, in Mexico, a newish model WRX almost beat if not beat my S5 from a roll one time. My RC-F demolished a 2015/16 STI from a roll. This tells the whole story..

 

While, of course, it may be subjective, I generally don't agree with that reasoning. Something that is truly beautiful never gets outdated. For proof, look no further than the 60-year-old Mercedes SL gull-wings from the 1950s. I also thought the 1994-1999 Toyota Celicas were timeless.

 

honestly the RC interior was a disappointment when i sat in one - I thought the C7 interior is nicer, which is a low blow for the RC.