Ingolstadt, Germany – Audi has presented a new system at the second CAR2CAR vehicle communication forum in Germany, which demonstrates how it will be possible in future for data to be exchanged between vehicles of different brands. Such communication, between vehicles as well as between vehicles and infrastructure, will pave the way for further improvements in traffic flow and safety.

The system assists and alerts a driver to any number of dangerous situations on any road, such as an icy patch ahead, a broken-down vehicle, or an unexpected traffic jam. Audi said that if this technology is to reach its full potential, all vehicles and other road users must use a uniform standard to communicate with each other.

The company’s communication units were installed in an Audi Q7 and A6, which warned of an approaching emergency vehicle and prevented a collision with a motorcycle at an intersection, through a central driver information system and the car’s MMI (Multi Media Interface). The system also includes audible instructions.

Audi said that one of its core pursuits lies in traffic efficiency operations such as the Travolution project, which allows urban traffic to flow far more freely through communication between traffic signals and vehicles. During the pilot experiment, 46 traffic lights were timed, providing a 20 per cent reduction in stops and correspondingly improved fuel efficiency. The company extrapolated that, assuming an hourly volume of 1,000 vehicles, over 700,000 litres of fuel would be saved annually.