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| This is not "Jack", but professor Ulrich Hackenberg, a board member at Audi with the new Q7 that may soon be driven by Jack, Audi's self-driving system. |
It was the biggest such experiment by a German car maker since BMW
send a 330i at speed around
the Top Gear track in England in 2007, and Mercedes Benz an S500 along the very first car’s 100-kilometre route from Mannheim to Pforzheim in Germany in 2013.
the Top Gear track in England in 2007, and Mercedes Benz an S500 along the very first car’s 100-kilometre route from Mannheim to Pforzheim in Germany in 2013.
Under the watchful eyes of several journalists en route, Jack
proved itself very capable of driving in traffic. Journalists were impressed
with the concept car’s ability to drive comfortably and the logical user
interface for which Audi is known.
Jack offers to relieve the driver of driving duties over 110 km/h.
The car can initiate lane changes and passing manoeuvrers as well as accelerate
and brake independently. As required by law in California, an Audi test driver
accompanied the drive from the passenger seat. Before the piloted driving system
reaches its limitations, in city environs for example, the driver is requested
to take control. Audi says this is to ensure proper safety, but as 99,9% of
crashes are due to human error, the decision probably has more to do with the
fact that the legal industry intends to sue all parties should a self-steering
car go wrong. The concept vehicle used production-ready sensors as well as
sensors integrated into production vehicles today. Audi said the sensors are
close to production.
