Audi, Researchers at Four U.S. Universities Begin Work on Solutions to Urban Mobility Challenges

The new three-year research initiative is called “Audi Urban Intelligent Assist.” The aim is to take the connected car, driver assistance, and infrastructure electronics to the next level by providing detailed information so motorists have a better sense of the driving conditions surrounding them.

With this initiative, the universities, ERL, and Audi want to cover the complete process of navigating in a mega city. The vision is to develop Audi models that will recognize individual motorists behind the wheel, know preferred destinations, routes the motorists have most commonly traveled and the time needed to reach appointments. The car will be able to help the drivers detect and avoid dangerous situations better, too.

The universities involved in the Audi Urban Intelligent Assist initiative are the University of Southern California, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at San Diego, and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).

“Technologies that help motorists become more aware and efficient are a crucial step toward solving some of the biggest transportation challenges on the horizon across the world,” said Dr. Burkhard Huhnke, executive director of the Audi Electronics Research Laboratory in Palo Alto, Calif. “Audi is confident that this initiative will provide an important insight on the future of urban transportation and produce innovative concepts that promote efficient, pleasant, and safer mobility.”

(Source: Audi USA)