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Frustrating, fuel-sapping stops at red
traffic lights could soon be the exception rather than the rule thanks
to a new initiative being championed by Audi aimed at streamlining urban
traffic flow and reducing CO2 emissions.
The experimental ‘Travolution’ system,
developed with Audi support by traffic management experts in the brand’s
German home town of Ingolstadt, will not only improve synchronisation
and phasing of traffic light networks to reduce stopping times, but
could also dramatically reduce the number of actual stops needed by
creating a communications link between cars and the traffic light
network.
Communications modules built into each
traffic light are able to send messages to cars in the vicinity,
alerting them to the time remaining until their next green phase. The
car’s onboard system is then able to calculate the speed which the
driver must maintain in order to pass through the light during this
green phase, and displays this via the Multi Media Interface display.
A network of 46 of the ‘intelligent’
traffic lights has been installed in the centre of Ingolstadt, the
software to which they are all linked optimising their phasing to bring
stopping times down to a minimum, reducing fuel consumption and
pollution in the process.
Of the 46 light gantries, three have
been upgraded to enable communication with the specially modified A5 and
A6 Avant models provided by Audi as part of the 1.2-million Euro pilot
project. A further 20 cars and 50 light installations are to be
incorporated as the project evolves. |
