Well, not quite but I did feel somewhat redundant in the A5 as we whizzed around audi’s test track at speeds up to 40 mph following the Q3 ahead barely making any steering or throttle inputs. It was if the A5 and Q3 were linked together by one of Scotty’s tractor beams from ‘Star Trek.’
The Traffic Jam Assistant system is based on Audi’s adaptive cruise control system with a stop & go function, plus added components for lateral guidance.
A trio of sensor systems, including two next generation 77 Ghz radars, a prototype laser scanner and a windshield mounted camera view the scene ahead of the car. A further eight ultrasonic sensors monitor zones immediately to the front and at each corner of the car.
Once the Traffic Jam Assistant system is activated and you’ve pre-set the speed required, the car seamlessly follows those ahead, even to the extent of guiding through shallow curves.
The automated braking could be quite abrupt, the system not having a human’s ability to blend the throttle and brake inputs, but the Traffic Jam Assistant is in the early stages of development and, no doubt, that will be ironed out in full before it would ever be released.
Assessing the system on a closed test track is one thing, but I can foresee all sorts of liability issues rearing their ugly heads if the technology ever makes it to series production which Audi suggests it will do in three years time.
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