Audi Flagships Going Autonomous In Traffic

The dream of reading the news and sipping on a coffee while driving to work could soon be a reality, with Audi lining up its own autonomous driving system for a future version of the A8 flagship.

Revealed at this week's Consumer Electronics Show, Audi's Traffic Jam Assistant can recognise when the vehicle is caught in stop-start traffic, allowing autonomous control of acceleration, braking, and steering.

Using the existing adaptive cruise-control sensors in the front of the car, along with high-mounted wide-angle cameras (much like Subaru's EyeSight) and eight ultrasonic sensors, the system can control the vehicle without driver intervention at speeds up to 60km/h. 

Audi's Traffic Jam Assist joins a growing number of autonomous-driving developments, including Volvo's SARTRE system, along with a future-thinking project at GM, and even Google is working on its own self-driving vehicles. 

The future is almost here... where's our jetpack?