Technology is almost bonkers in the full scheme of how today’s advancements can be incorporated into an automobile enabling it to autonomously drive 550 miles from San Francisco Bay Area to Las Vegas for the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This is precisely what Audi is doing in a new A7 equipped with their new self-driving technology called “Piloted Driving.”
The advancements in this specific technology over the last few years has been astonishing, utilizing the latest tech in GPS location, long-range radars, a laser scanner (LIDAR), a 3D camera and an onslaught of other cameras all to navigate the Piloted Audi A7 via servo controls to its destination.
Yesterday marked the first day of the long-distance test drive of the Audi A7 using its Piloted Driving with 3 journalists aboard. “It’s actually pretty cool,” as Jason Harper of Fortune Magazine puts it.
The Audi A7’s Piloted Driving system works from 0 to 70 mph. Upon approaching urban areas the system alerts the driver to take over manual control. If no action is taken by the drive, the vehicle will simply pull over on the shoulder and turn on its hazard flashers. This is evident of the system’s shortcomings, in addition to its ability to read fading lines in the road on some highways. Work still needs to be done, but we can be assured that we will see this autonomous vehicle arrive in Vegas as the 2015 CES as scheduled. AMAZING!
