PALO ALTO, California — Drivers not wanted? That could be the slogan for the Audi TTS Autonomous, a project for a car that can "safely operate without direct input from a driver." The project is going on at the Volkswagen Group's Automotive Innovation Laboratory (VAIL) in collaboration with Stanford University.
The point is to find ways to reduce fatalities by improving driver assistance technologies, and not to take all the fun out of driving an Audi TTS, the company is quick to point out. The technology being developed can help drivers respond more effectively to traffic conditions. It won't hurt if it also lets the car take over some of the drudge-work aspects of driving, such as getting into a spot in a parking garage.
The VW Group Electronics Research Laboratory is taking over part of the task. Its role is to convert a vehicle to drive by wire and to develop "safety architecture" that lets it operate without a driver. The lab is setting up a control system jointly developed with Sun Microsystems.
The Stanford University Dynamics Design Lab, one of VAIL's member groups, is developing "robust control algorithms" that will let the vehicle drive at a variety of speeds and under different road conditions and surfaces "at the limits of handling."
The car being used is a 2009 Audi TTS with a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine that makes 265 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed S tronic double-clutch transmission. It is getting a new production electric power steering system with direct drive-by-wire control. The electronic throttle from VW's lab reproduces signals "to emulate a driver pressing on the throttle," and the brakes get a Continental active brake booster with by-wire control.
The Autonomous has "multiple redundant systems" to control the vehicle's operation and shut it down in case of an emergency but it also has a Solaris-based system running real-time Java that monitors all sensors and actuators, ready to shut down the vehicle through a Java RTS subsystem if it determines that "conditions have become unsafe." There's also a remote-shutdown telemetry system that works from as far as 20 miles away as an added backup.
No mere geek plaything, the Audi TTS Autonomous may get a real-world test in a run up Pikes Peak in late 2010, replicating the 12.4-mile Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in a noncompetitive situation. The run would help show the autonomous Audi's ability to run under varying conditions — "including drifting," VW points out. As if to underline that point, the Audi TTS Autonomous is nicknamed "Michelle Mouton" after the pioneering Audi Sport rally driver.
Inside Line says: Sounds expensive — and useful to make cars safer and more electronically advanced. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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cwmoo740 says:
06:07 PM, 11/23/2009
I was at the un"VAIL"ing of this car on the Stanford campus. As of right now, this thing crawls at about 5 mph over anything except completely smooth dirt. The CS team behind this still doubts if it'll make it up pikes peak at all, but it's still pretty awesome.