Skip to main content

Fast smart car

Audi has let its sophisticated autonomous RS7 performance car loose on the famous Hockenheim race circuit, with successful results. The vehicle features advanced computing technology that allows it to drive itself and was able to achieve speeds of 240km/h while completing a lap on the Grand Prix race circuit. A combination of GPS location data and onboard camera technology enabled the vehicle to compare with stored track map information and identify its precise location on the track, allowing it to drive at
January 14, 2015 Read time: 1 min
Audi has let its sophisticated autonomous RS7 performance car loose on the famous Hockenheim race circuit, with successful results. The vehicle features advanced computing technology that allows it to drive itself and was able to achieve speeds of 240km/h while completing a lap on the Grand Prix race circuit. A combination of GPS location data and onboard camera technology enabled the vehicle to compare with stored track map information and identify its precise location on the track, allowing it to drive at the appropriate speed and in the correct direction. The car was able to follow the best line through the curves with an accuracy of just centimetres. The company does plan to incorporate some of the self-driving technologies in upcoming models currently in development, which will help boost safety and reduce the risk of crashes.

Related Content

  • WiM eases bridge health worries
    July 31, 2024
    Ageing road bridges are leading road authorities to consider the case for using weigh-in-motion - WiM - solutions to monitor the health of such infrastructure, writes Adam Hill.
  • System for road recycling
    October 19, 2020
    A new technology from Streumaster can help optimise working in road recycling applications. This new generation of binding agent spreaders can be used in road recycling applications for base material preparation.
  • Springtime for the use of analytics
    January 20, 2021
    Winter road maintenance can be made more efficient and effective through the use of big data and analytics, says Samu Karanko, head of science for Vaisala Digital in Europe.
  • Spanish analysis of crash data by vehicle type
    October 7, 2014
    Crash data analysis from Spain highlights key areas of concern with regard to the road safety of specific vehicle types. The report was compiled by Ponle Freno-AXA de Seguridad and covers the period from January-August 2014, analysing more than 176,000 collisions. Most dangerous of all, quad bikes were the cause of 83% of the crashes they were involved in. Meanwhile industrial vehicles and trucks were the cause of 80% of the crashes they were involved in. Vans were the cause of 65% of the crashes they were