Wednesday 15th July 2015

New autonomous Audi RS7

Lighter, faster RS7 drives Sonoma track "with uniform precision". Erk.

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Remember the Audi RS7 that lapped Hockenheim autonomously and very quickly last year? Quite an achievement. Now it's back with a new colour scheme, a new name (that car was 'Bobby', this is 'Robby'; nope, us neither) and even more performance.

You call this parked? Pah.

This red and black RS7 (surely it should have been Dennis?) is now 400kg lighter than the previous version - shame that couldn't come out of the road car - and has lapped Sonoma raceway in 2:01. Which is pretty damn quick for a twisting 2.5-mile circuit in a road car. Indeed, Audi head of brake, steering and driver assistance development Thomas Muller said the RS7 "turned in lap times that were better than those of sports car drivers".

So it's metronomically fast and precise to a point a human could never be. Very good. What's the point? Well the technology will be in the next A8. Should a driver find themselves "overwhelmed or underwhelmed by driving tasks" then the autonomous tech can assist. For the A8 the piloted driving feature will be able to take full control of the car when parking and in stop-start traffic at up to 37mph. More details on that soon, no doubt. Hopefully there's a video for the RS7 to come as well. Sounds spookily intriguing, right?

[macky17]

I thought most Audis were autonomous...

I'll get my coat.

[Ruskins]

Audi determined to engineer out those pesky fleshy bits from the modern car...

[J4CKO]

I wonder when they make it road ready whether or not they will make it drive like the one I saw charging past standing traffic on the hard shoulder of the M56 the other day ?

[skeeterm5]

How does that lap time compare to the same car with a human driver?

S

[rejn]

skeeterm5 said:

How does that lap time compare to the same car with a human driver?

article said:

... lap times that were better than those of sports car drivers ...

If that means that the autonomous car can deliver lap times better than a works GT3 driver, that is just incredible. I can't wait to see the video.

i just love the idea of them doing this in F1 - a rabbit for the dogs to chase!

[J4CKO]

rejn said:

i just love the idea of them doing this in F1 - a rabbit for the dogs to chase!

Yeah, in any formula/series, that could be pretty fantastic and probably good development mileage.

[Theophany]

If the old one was called Bobby, surely Ricky should've been the go to name for this one?

[LA167]

Shake n bake baby!!!

Imagine being in the passenger seat while 'nobody' takes you round that track! Surreal? Or just plain st your pants moment!?

[rejn]

And even better, imagine updating the software to include over-taking (including some game theory on trying to outthink the other cars) and then put two of them on track at the same time - brilliant.

One of my mates went off to Jaguar to do a PhD in autonomous cars back in 1995 - from what I remember they struggled to even recognise the road back then. How things have changed in 20 years.

[Itsallicanafford]

Looks like Mercedes has first dibbs on 'Noddy'





...ah forget it, i'm wasted on this place...

[dci]

Why are these companies investing so much in autonomous technologies? I can't be the only one who has absolutely no interest what so ever in any sort of driverless technology in road cars?

[Krikkit]

dci said:

Why are these companies investing so much in autonomous technologies? I can't be the only one who has absolutely no interest what so ever in any sort of driverless technology in road cars?

You might not, but a lot of folks would love a car they don't have to drive. Just enter your destination and relax/watch telly/go on the web etc etc. It'd certainly make commuting much less of a chore.

[corcoran]

Anita v0.7?

[BuzzBravado]

dci said:

Why are these companies investing so much in autonomous technologies? I can't be the only one who has absolutely no interest what so ever in any sort of driverless technology in road cars?

Me too, but we are severely in the minority. Ask anyone at my work and they cant wait to be driven places whilst reading their kindles. We are a dying breed.

[jamespink]

macky17 said:

I thought most Audis were autonomous...

I'll get my coat.

My builder friend is just putting the rear garage wall back for the SECOND time after his customer demolished it with his "stop start" autonomous auto Audi, again ... The same guy has also recently demolished his next door neighbors wall ... His insurers have to be looking at that...

Was it not Audis in the states that "autonomously" caused several full throttle "accidents" a few years ago?

[lestiq]

BuzzBravado said:

dci said:

Why are these companies investing so much in autonomous technologies? I can't be the only one who has absolutely no interest what so ever in any sort of driverless technology in road cars?

Me too, but we are severely in the minority. Ask anyone at my work and they cant wait to be driven places whilst reading their kindles. We are a dying breed.

I couldn't agree with you more, but think of all the cretins you see on the road driving thoughtlessly, inefficiently and some of the time dangerously and think wouldn't it be great if those people - that clearly have no interest in driving, could just sit back in an autonomous lane on the motorway. Then maybe we wouldn't have car parks for motorways during rush hour because idiots like slowing down for accidents to have a look, or can't comprehend the simple theory of merging into a lane....

think about it, the roads could be clearer for the enthusiast or those that want to still control their car.

B roads could have perfectly formed road trains with gaps big enough for overtaking if stuck doing 40 behind an HGV. I for one cannot wait for this sort of technology to be mainstream, we need it otherwise the car will simply die - we can't keep adding vehicles to our road system without something giving.

[DaveL485]

rejn said:

And even better, imagine updating the software to include over-taking (including some game theory on trying to outthink the other cars) and then put two of them on track at the same time - brilliant.

That would be fascinating to watch.

[BuzzBravado]

lestiq said:

BuzzBravado said:

dci said:

Why are these companies investing so much in autonomous technologies? I can't be the only one who has absolutely no interest what so ever in any sort of driverless technology in road cars?

Me too, but we are severely in the minority. Ask anyone at my work and they cant wait to be driven places whilst reading their kindles. We are a dying breed.

I couldn't agree with you more, but think of all the cretins you see on the road driving thoughtlessly, inefficiently and some of the time dangerously and think wouldn't it be great if those people - that clearly have no interest in driving, could just sit back in an autonomous lane on the motorway. Then maybe we wouldn't have car parks for motorways during rush hour because idiots like slowing down for accidents to have a look, or can't comprehend the simple theory of merging into a lane....

think about it, the roads could be clearer for the enthusiast or those that want to still control their car.

B roads could have perfectly formed road trains with gaps big enough for overtaking if stuck doing 40 behind an HGV. I for one cannot wait for this sort of technology to be mainstream, we need it otherwise the car will simply die - we can't keep adding vehicles to our road system without something giving.

Sure but that is all based on the possibility that you would have a choice. Reduced pollution, congestion and insurance costs would be a driving factor for making the roads 100% autonomous. Having a mix of autonomous and manual cars would create complexities that the government have no reason to entertain. 100% autonomous would suit the population as a whole much better and that would force us to give up our favorite past time. We have no valid reason to carry on driving, except that we like it, and that doesn't hold enough weight.

[Pesty]

jamespink said:

My builder friend is just putting the rear garage wall back for the SECOND time after his customer demolished it with his "stop start" autonomous auto Audi, again ... The same guy has also recently demolished his next door neighbors wall ... His insurers have to be looking at that...

Was it not Audis in the states that "autonomously" caused several full throttle "accidents" a few years ago?

No that was Toyota I think massive recal on throttle pedal. Nothing to do with being autonomous

[kambites]

Pesty said:

No that was Toyota I think massive recal on throttle pedal. Nothing to do with being autonomous

I seem to remember the fault was actually with the carpets jamming the pedal down. Hardly a "high tech" problem.

I have no wish to own one but I think fully autonomous cars will be a fabulous option to have.