Audi deploys speed recommendations to help drivers avoid red lights

Audi owners with select 2017 or newer vehicles have received a new feature that helps them avoid red lights. The company announced an update to its Traffic Light Information system, adding Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory (GLOSA) for displaying speed 'recommendations' based on various traffic infrastructure data. With this info, the driver has better odds of avoiding red lights.

Audi launched Traffic Light Information in 2016 as a feature that enables select cars to communicate with traffic infrastructure in some metro regions in the US. At this time, places that include Los Angeles, Houston, Denver, New York City, San Francisco, Washington DC, and more are covered by the GLOSA and time-to-green functionalities.

Assuming an Audi vehicle that supports this technology is operated in one of these cities, the car is able to communicate with traffic lights over a 4G LTE connection to display info related to the light. More than 4700 intersections in the United States support the GLOSA and time-to-green features.

As an example, if the traffic signal is red, drivers will see how much time is remaining before the light changes to green. This data is displayed in the vehicle's instrument cluster and in the HUD, depending on whether the car has one. The convenience feature enables drivers to see exactly how much longer they'll be waiting at the light.

With this most recent update, the TLI feature now shows a speed recommendation that is tailored to any given moment in order to help the driver hit green lights at a greater number of intersection. The recommendations are based on multiple pieces of data acquired by the system, including the signal timing plans, the distance left before stopping, and the speed limit profile in the area where the car is operating.