Back to the Future 4 – The Audi Prequel

We all take technology for granted; we can wake up to a random selection of songs played from a device that is capable of storing thousands of high quality albums. We can fit this device (what would have been a room full of LPs) in our pocket and use this handheld device to communicate with people all around the world. It needs no buttons, just caressing the screen with your finger or holding it a different way can be enough to activate its impressive functions. If that is not enough, you can download applications that turn it into a spirit level, a mobile office, or even a light-saber! This device is known as the Apple I-Phone and I salute you I-Phone for coming into our world and making it cool to be a gadget-loving geek.

So, if a phone can be made (with the help of new technology) to be so versatile, why not the humble motor car? 2010 may be the year for this to happen, especially if you are an Audi driver. They have a history of inventing, in 2006 they had already clocked up nearly 10,000 patents and they don’t stop. So, what could 2010 have in-store for Audi owners?

Google Earth Navigation – A8
Not pleased with simple 3D renditions of the road ahead, Audi has teamed up with Google to bring you satellite imagery. Now you can clearly tell which way the road bends and what features you can expect to be up ahead. Users can also search for locations and businesses using the Google search engine from in their car, then navigate to that point with just a simple to on the cars MMI-Touch interface.

Intelligent car features – A8 and E-Tron
The intelligent lighting system that Audi has put in place communicates with various sensors in the car and even the car’s satellite navigation system. They use several different light configurations for different road types and best of all, they are LED lights and so energy consumption is kept to a minimum.

In a similar way to how the headlights on the new A8 can use information from the satellite navigation, so can the latest gearbox in Audi’s range. Traditionally automatic gearboxes have had a reputation for shifting at bad times (i.e. in a corner) and while Audi have mostly removed the chance of this with their recent advancements, the inclusion of the navigation system means that they can eliminate it for good.

Self-parking car
It has been tried several times before with various other manufacturers and it has a reputation for not working as well as planned, until now. The parallel parking system has been an option on the Audi A3 for a while now and has yet to be surpassed for its ease of use. The car monitors the size of parking spaces and will take care of all of the angles, while you just control the speed.

A car that drives itself
Well, not quite but we are nearly there. For sometime now Audi have been offering Adaptive cruise control - a clever system that monitors the road ahead and will slow down, or accelerate the car to match the speed of other road users. When combined with other options, the car can warn you of cars in your blind-spots, detect (and help prevent) hazards on the road ahead and even use night vision to see things that you cannot. The uses heat recognition and clever cameras to calculate whether the hazard is a pedestrian or an animal. It will then highlight this on the screen and calculate the risk level by looking at the hazards movements i.e. which way they are walking, how fast, etc. The driver is alerted to the danger and if necessary the car will intervene by braking.

I figure that we now have all of the components needed to almost be able to do away with the driver. Let’s think about it;
o We have a satellite navigation system feeding information to various elements of the car
o The car is detecting obstacles with not only sensors, but cameras including night vision cameras that have a range far beyond high-beam headlights
o The car is able to steer itself into a difficult parking space
o Technology is already in production whereby cars can communicate with each other and traffic lights

Of course if my theory is correct, then I am now useless. However all hope is not lost, as the car still needs fuelling - for now anyway.

P.S. If you are reading this in the year 2011, then it is likely that your Audi is reading this to you while it drives you to work!