Audi lets A7 car drive itself to CES 2015
Car is called Jack, and will drive much of the way by itself
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Audi is letting a specially made A7 drive itself from San Francisco the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.
The company is sending the car on the journey to demonstrate its self-driving technology. The car, called Jack, is the first major debut of the “Piloted Driving” technology, which Audi says is now production ready.
It is just one of a number of connected car technologies that are being demonstrated at the show.
The 550-mile journey will demonstrate the car’s ability to drive on motorways, including changing lanes and doing overtaking manoeuvres.
It is able to control steering, acceleration and braking to keep safe while driving.
To do so, it makes use of long range radar sensors that keep watch of the front and back of the vehicle, and mid-range sensors at the left and right, so that the car has a 360 degree view of its surroundings. It also has a built-in 3D video camera, as well as smaller ones, that keep a watch on the environment, and the car uses navigation data for checking how the car is oriented.
The car is able to drive on its own between 0 and 70 miles per hour. The driver is also asked to take over in urban environments to ensure its safety.
That is done using signals built into the car, including LEDs in the windshield and sound, that prompt drivers to take over. If they don’t, the car will put the hazard lights on and stop the car.
Journalists will be sitting in the driving seat and helping the car out as it travels the journey.
The car is set to arrive in Las Vegas tomorrow, ahead of Audi’s presentation at CES at 7PM GMT.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments