New Audi tech emergency swerve steering & CarPlay

2015-Audi-A8Audi is gearing up for CES Asia (Shanghai) and released a new video with some interesting demonstrations.

The first noticeable feature seen in the video is CarPlay shown in the Audi with an iPhone connected to the entertainment system. There are also back seat entertainment screen with high speed Internet Wi-Fi hotspots, a digital customized cockpit and a self-driving Audi on a curved highway ramp.

At CES Asia, Chairman Rupert Stadler, Head of Development Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg and Sales Director Luca de Meo will be present a keynote on electronics and megatrends of mobility. Also Audi is showing concept car.

Automotive News reported that there is a new ADAS feature coming from Audi using the powerful zFAS system. The next phase of ADAS safety is that the car is programmed to automatically swerve around an obstacle to avoid collisions.

In order to accomplish such a complicated task, the technology used will have backup systems and sensors in place in case of problems. The new approach will use with the zFAS central controller when it goes into production in two years in the Audi A8.

The zFAS controller incorporates technology form Dephi, NVIDIA Tegra KI and Mobileye.

Audi is also working with leading suppliers such as Bosch, Continental, Valeo and Delphi on the sensors and actuating elements, such as braking and steering systems. Audi wants to develop common standards.

The zFAS electronics board that is about the size of a tablet, is upgradeable and will eventually communicate with the cloud via 4G LTE. The zFas is a central controller while other current driver systems use separate  controllers. zFAS intakes sensor data that the controller uses to compute a view of surroundings and sends the information to different driver assistance systems.

Soon, Audi claims that Audi connect will enable the piloted cars from Audi to also learn continuously as they drive.

An Audi SUV was the first car to drive without a driver across the United States.

The Audi 8 currently can be equipped with adaptive cruise control with stop and go, Audi side assist that alerts when there is vehicle in a blind spot.

This technology is similar to Audi’s swerve technology is Continental’s Emergency Steer Assist (ESA), which automatically brakes and pumps power to the steering torque to help the driver to avoid a collision. TRW developed a similar system with the Technical University of Dortmund. ZF Friedrichshafen AG recently bought TRW. TRW will be incorporated into ZF as a new division called Active & Passive Safety Technology. Hyundai and Nissan are also working on steering assist collision avoidance systems.

It appears that Audi will be making some interesting announcements in Shanghai.

CTIA AT&T connected car panel says people would switch carriers for connected cars

Atmaychan CTIA Mobility Week a week after AT&T announced it latest connected car platform, AT&T ‘s Ralp de la Vega along with a panel of AT&T connected car fans, discussed how important connected cars are to the Wireless industry.

de la Vega noted that Strategy Analytics estimates that nearly 10 million 4-wheeled smartphones in the form of connected cars will be on the road in a few years. He also reported that AT&T studies show people prefer a shared family data plan that lets them to share data for many devices, and customers want to be able to add their cars to their rate plans.

Volkswagen ELR connected car research offers driving buddies with ESP

infotainmentvwVolkswagen Group’s Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL) is working on more “intuitive” forms of driver, car and external communications, noted a news release from the company. Volkswagen group encompasses Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and VW.

ERL researchers are looking at the three elements important for connected driving, the car, mobile devices and cloud.

Audi A7 has to reboot on Tampa Florida Expressway

audiconnecctIn testing a self piloted Audi A7 in Tampa, sensor problems caused the car to halt twice with Florida Gov. Rick Scott in the passenger seat.

For most of the trip on the freeway that can be shut off from real traffic, the Audi A7 worked well and took the heat using an array of sensors and cameras to navigate and pilot the freeway at 40mph while stopping and avoiding other cars