To keep them rolling down the road, autonomous cars need all kinds of technology to work together seamlessly. Radar, ultrasonic sensors, cameras, GPS navigation… all are essential to operation. And if you’re truly expecting to step into a sci-fi future filled with robo cars, go ahead and add vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) tech to the list. V2I is important because it provides insight into the kinds of stuff onboard sensors might not be able to pick up or handle, such as road conditions a mile ahead, heavy traffic management, and toll collection. But before the whole world goes fully autonomous, V2I still has huge potential to improve our daily motoring lives right now, and it looks like Audi is moving forward with the latest innovations for the modern consumer.

Recently unveiled in Las Vegas, Audi has introduced a new V2I feature that uses an onboard 4G LTE connection to interface with the city’s traffic management system and monitor real-time traffic light info.

Dubbed the “time-to-green” feature, the feature works like this – when a V2I-equipped car is stopped at a “connected” traffic light, the driver will be able to see a countdown of the time until the light turns green in the driver instrument cluster, or, if so equipped, the heads-up display. According to Audi, this info will “reduce stress and the driver to relax knowing approximately how much time remains before the changing of the light.”

Usually, I do the same thing by watching for the change to yellow in perpendicular lights, but granted, it’s not a foolproof system. Something that’s actually digitally connected to the lights would probably be a bit more accurate.

Anyway, Audi says “time-to-green” is the first feature of the Audi Traffic Light Information service V2I technology, with possible future uses including engine start/stop integration, navigation optimization, and “a speed recommendation designed to maximize the number of green lights one can make in a sequence.”

Traffic Light Information is a feature of Audi connect Prime, and will be incorporated in certain 2017 Audi A4, Q7, and allroad models produced after June 1, 2016. The service launches this month exclusively in Las Vegas, but it’s expected to see an expansion to other cities in the near future.

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Why It Matters

Think of V2I tech as a big eye in the sky watching over everything and making sure it all runs as smoothly as possible. The Traffic Light Information system is specifically designed to improve efficiency and to reduce traffic congestion, but V2I can also be used for safety and convenience. For example, if a roadway is iced over and dangerous to drive on, V2I could redirect traffic to an alternative, less slippery route, or maybe even call in some service vehicles to lay down the salt. Or maybe you’re in an EV and you need to re-juice your batteries, but the nearest charge point is overloaded with other EV’s, so the tech searches for an alternative with a free plug.

With possibilities like those listed above, Audi’s “time-to-green” feature might seem pretty basic, but hey, you gotta start somewhere, right? It’s kinda like the first cruise control before we get into autopilot mode. Further V2X (vehicle-to-everything) connections include V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle, such as communication between cars about where low-grip sections of tarmac might be located), V2P (vehicle-to-pedestrian, such as an alert that an inattentive texter is stepping into traffic), V2D (vehicle-to-device, such as an app that lets you remotely turn on the seat warmers), and V2G (vehicle-to-grid, such as connecting your EV to the electrical grid to charge up during off off-peak hours).


Audi has touted itself as an autonomous leader for years now, with recent media attention coming from the brand’s self-piloted journey between San Francisco and Las Vegas (560 miles) for CES 2015.

But when it comes to V2I, the folks pulling the strings behind the metropolitan curtain will need to get involved as well. As such, Las Vegas is gearing up to become the world’s first “smart city,” with the Four Rings collaborating with Traffic Technology Services to make the Traffic Light Information service work correctly. Back in August, Audi said Washington D.C. was another city slated for future integration of the tech.

Audi says it expects other big automakers to follow suit with similar features sometime in the future, but it’s smart to get the ball rolling now. After all, if broad adoption is the endgame, there’s gonna have to be some sort of standardization of systems here, and getting in on the ground floor could yield huge dividends.

But of course, there’s always a drawback. V2I could do a lot to improve our lives, but like any system, there’s a possibility it could get hacked. Whether it’s a rogue nation, terrorist group, or just some bored teenager in a basement, connecting every car to the same system has the potential to cause real havoc on the road. That much is obvious thanks to the efforts of hackers like Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, who in July of 2015 demonstrated how easy it would be to remotely commandeer a 2014 Jeep Cherokee.

That said, the positives of an interconnected highway system are too good to pass up. I just hope the necessary precautions are taken first.