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Audi is showing off some of its next-generation tech at the huge Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, a one-time technology show, which is fast becoming as important to car makers as any traditional motor show.
Audi is working with high-tech giant NVIDIA to develop autonomous driving systems that actually learn from experience and improve their abilities - so called artificial intelligence. This isn't a robotic Arnold Schwarzenegger though, it's a Q7 which can learn how to drive.
The big SUV has been outfitted with a 2MP forward-facing camera, supplied by Israeli specialists MobileEye, which scans the road ahead along with the NVIDIA PX 2 Processing Unit. That unit, in a fashion familiar to anyone who remembers Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, uses a so-called Neural Network - a computer system which tries to mimic the actions of the human brain. With a camera that can work in difficult conditions such as harsh winter light and a processing system which can learn as it goes, this robotic Q7 is pretty clever.
So clever that it can actually learn from a human. Unlike most autonomous systems, which work from a pre-programmed set of responses, the Audi-NVIDIA system starts by being driven around by a human driver, and the computer watches what they do and learns (hopefully) appropriate responses to traffic situations that would be difficult to pre-program for, such as temproary traffic signals and road works.
"Beginning with a human driver at the wheel, the Audi Q7 deep learning concept gained a limited familiarity with the route and the surroundings, by means of observation and with the help of additional training cameras" saus Audi. "That established a correlation between the driver's reactions and the occurrences detected by the cameras. So during the subsequent demonstration drives the car is able to understand instructions, like from a temporary traffic signal, interpret them right away and act as the situation requires. When a corresponding signal appears, the concept car immediately changes the driving strategy and selects either the short route or the long one. The design of the system is so robust that it can even cope with disturbance variables such as changing weather and light conditions. It masters its tasks day and night, and even in direct sunlight or harsh artificial light."
Audi is also showing off its next-generation infotainment system, which is possibly clever enough to need a new designation as it goes way beyond simply working the stereo for you. Co-developed with NVIDIA and using that company's powerful Tegra K1 processing chip, the new system, called MIB2+, will make its debut on the new A8 which arrives later this year. Audi says that it will "make new functions possible and has the impressive computing power needed to support several high-resolution displays - including the second-generation Audi virtual cockpit. Onboard and online information will merge, making the car part of the cloud to a greater degree than ever. Deep neural networks enable the system to be self-learning when determining which characteristics are appropriate and relevant for identifying the various objects. With this methodology the car can even recognise empty driving spaces, an important prerequisite for safe, piloted driving."
We would like to remind you that Audi still makes cars. Some of them with engines.