The Audi buzz at this year’s International Consumer and Electronics Show is all about its matrix laser headlights, but the German automaker showed off another innovative gadget that, coincidentally, is also all about the lights.
At the show, Autoblog sampled an A6 equipped with what Audi calls TLA, or Traffic Light Assist. Unlike adaptive cruise control systems, TLA doesn’t utilize a camera to determine the colour of the traffic light ahead. Instead, the system uses the car’s onboard WiFi system to pull local information about traffic light patterns. It then does a few calculations by taking into account the direction (and lane position) of the car to figure out how much time you have until the light changes.
The information is relayed to the driver via an appropriate traffic light icon displayed on the instrument panel, as well as a countdowm timer. As long as your car has a Stop/Start system, it’s also integrated with TLA and switches the engine back on seconds before the light changes to green. The system also adjusts itself based on your lane, so if you come to a left-turn signal, you’ll still know low long you’ll have to hit the green arrow.
Autoblog says the installation process, at least for the A6, is nothing more than reprogramming the car’s CPU. Audi doesn’t have a firm timeline on introducing Traffic Light Assist, but it’s currently testing the gadget in Germany, Italy and Las Vegas for CES.
