launcht Audi A8 is officially the first vehicle to hit the road with Level 3 Autonomy ( ie. the car can Self-Drive itself in most situations, but the driver needs to be seated and ready to take over ). They call it the ‘AI Traffic Jam pilot’ & the car can take control and Self-Drive all by itself during slow moving traffic of below 60 KMPH. All you need to do is press the AI button provided at the centre of the console and the vehicle can start driving by itself hence forth.
But the catch here is: you are to use this feature only on highways that has a partition in-between that separates the oncoming traffic. It cant change lanes & if it senses vehicles around speeding above 60 KMPH, it will alert the driver to take over. But again, the usage of this Driver-less feature is subject to the law of the land ( which is the reason, many Autonomous companies are hiring a lot many Localization Research Engineers, so the car gets intelligent enough to figure out which jurisdiction it is now and behaves accordingly )
AUDI A8 achieves this level 3 Autonomous capability with the help of high-tech sensors it has been loaded with. It consists of multiple AI processors from NVIDIA ( to get super computing speed for instant decision making ), LIDAR systems, Ultrasonic sensors, all around camera’s and 5 RADARS. The vehicle is also fitted with superior AI powered suspension systems that can sense bumps ahead and raise the body to weaken the jolt felt inside the cabin. Also the Radars upon sencing a side-wise impact, will command the central system to raise the side of the body to direct the impact shock towards the floor of the vehicle. All of this happens in just a fraction of a second!
Note: For Audi this began way in past, in year 2005 when they collaborated with Stanford University for the DARPA’s Grand Challenge organised for automated vehicles. Their collaborated team was a winner being successful in driving 150 miles fastest. At a time when other companies have realized the importance of moving towards ‘Driver-less’ tech and are entering into the league, Audi was the first one to quickly seize the first advantage to acquire a license and take a test drive on the streets of New York. Audi has also acquired license to test on California and Nevada’s roads. New York police have already tested all the routes on which the car will make its ride happen and Department of Motor Vehicles has also given a green signal to make its testing happen. There will be 2 drivers, one on driver’s seat and one on the back seat to monitor the car’s system.
This spectacular AI powered Driver-less feature of AUDI puts the vehicle leaps and bounds ahead of competition ( Mercedes Benz, Tesla, Cadillac etc. ). Apart from the Self-Driving mode, AUDI encourages its owners to try out the stunning Self-Parking feature it offers. The driver can get out of the car and the car can park by itself. You can also watch the parking happen via. the eye of the vehicle itself ( ie. the 360 degree camera ) right from your mobile phone using the MyAudi app.
Audi A8 offers all the above fascinating features along with the gorgeous MMI infotainment system that comes with multiple touchscreens, Foot massager, 4G LTE and Wi-Fi. This also comes with voice control, so you can directly voice command the machine than rather touching it.
On July 11th Audi made its announcement about its ambitious plans with A8, AI & Driver-less tech in the Barcelona summit. The CEO of Volkswagen group Stadler said “We see potential for highly automated driving also in the city, where traffic is highly complex; this is the ultimate test for us,”. Also he added “Artificial Intelligence will be undoubtedly one of the greatest forces of change ever experienced by mankind.”
The company also went ahead to advertise the launch of Audi A8 AI by sponsoring a scene in the Spider-man Home coming movie.
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