Audi talks to traffic lights

The company is working on a high-tech in-car solution called Travolution that ‘talks’ to traffic lights.  Using a wireless network link between cars and traffic lights, it cuts the time drivers spend idling at stop lights.

Audi Australia spokesperson, Anna Burgdorf, says Travolution is still in its infancy but has enormous implications to save fuel, reduce emissions and deliver more efficient driving.  "If it's successful, and there are certainly signs that it is, it has enormous scope not just in Germany," she says.
"But it would be a minimum of five years away."

Apart from saving time, Audi says exhaust emissions could be lowered by two million tonnes a year in Germany alone, cutting CO2 emissions by 15 per cent.  Fuel consumption will also be slashed by 17 per cent, saving as much as 700,000 litres of fuel a year.

Audi is currently testing Travolution in 15 cars in several German cities.  As a car approaches a light that's already red, the system will tell the driver how long it will be before it turns green.  This allows them to alter their speed to avoid coming to a stop.

If a traffic light is about to change from green to yellow or yellow to red, the driver is also alerted, allowing them to slow down ahead of time.  Burgdorf believes Travolution will require a big infrastructure commitment from governments.

"But Germany is very advanced in legislating for more efficient ways of driving," she says.  Travolution already has the backing of German governments and the city Ingolstadt, Audi's headquarters.  Although the tests revolve around conventional cars, Burgdorf says the system has scope beyond the internal combustion engine.

"It will have big advantages for electric cars," she says.  Audi has found that when a car is stopped at a red light, it uses 0.02 litres of fuel when it pulls away and emits 5 grams of harmful CO2.

There are 60,000 traffic lights in Germany and 50 million cars regularly emit 15 million tonnes of CO2 or 20 per cent of their total emissions idling at traffic lights.  These emissions can be reduced if the traffic lights initiate contact with the vehicles.

Travolution has several other applications.  It can help drivers avoid red light camera fines, find carparks and allow drivers to pay for fuel from their car.