German automaker Audi is expanding its innovative Traffic Light Information (TLI) service to more cities across the United States. Audi said TLI is now available in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in a recent press release. Audi’s TLI recently surpassed 22,000 connected intersections operated by upwards of 60 agencies in partnership with Traffic Technology Services.
Continuous Network Expansion
First introduced to Audi production vehicles in 2016, TLI started with a few connected signals in Portland, Oregon, and Las Vegas. The technology has since expanded to more U.S. states, including Dallas (and Houston metros), Palo Alto and Arcadia in California, and Denver, Colorado. With the addition of Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, Traffic Light Information is now available in more than 20 major metros and upwards of 60 cities and regions in the United States.
How It Works
According to the Aeris Research Program Report (PDF) by the U.S. Department of Transportation, minimizing stop-and-go driving leads to more than 15 percent better fuel economy when drivers can predictably respond to traffic signal changes. Additionally, TLI provides drivers more situational awareness on the road by issuing a recommended speed limit (or Green Light Optimized Advisories) to maximize the chances of having a green light at the next intersection.
When approaching a stoplight, the driver will see the time remaining until the light changes from red to green in the heads-up display or instrument cluster. According to Audi, future iterations of TLI and other V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure) technologies can reduce traffic congestion while enhancing road safety. TLI works via an LTE signal that comes standard with an Audi connect PRIME or PLUS subscription. A traffic signal controller feeds real-time alerts from connected traffic lights to the vehicle. As described by Audi, the system utilizes advanced machine learning in areas where signal controllers are not connected.
C-V2X Focus
The Audi brand is among the first to implement vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology in production cars. In addition to TLI, Audi has debuted initial test deployments of advanced cellular-vehicle-to-everything mobility communications (C-V2X) in Alpharetta, Georgia, and Northern Virginia as early as 2020.
Audi notes that C-V2X can enhance safety for vulnerable road users like work crews, traffic enforcement, and emergency vehicles. The technology can also alert Audi drivers when approaching school buses or school zones. After reorganizing the 5.9 GHz communications spectrum in November 2020, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission decided that C-V2X is the preferred connected vehicle technology for the future in the U.S.
