Skip to main content

Audi RS7 Piloted Driving Concept Completes Driverless Lap at Hockenheim




Yesterday, a monumental display in 21st century automobile technology proceeded under the presence of a large motorsports crowd. As the content of a previous article on Car FYI announced, a special Audi RS7 concept car lapped Germany's famed Hockenheimring lacking one detail typically associated with lapping vehicles; a driver.

Taking part ahead of the main race for the 2014 DTM series finale at the world famous race track, An exhibit of computer-controlled autonomous driving provided by Audi was placed behind the starting line of the Hockenheimring. Driven into the P1 starting spot by a human, the doors of the vehicle opened to a small reception of press and other Audi-related personnel. Preparations for the live display Piloted Driving has arrived to an ambitious live display. While Audi previously tested the RS7 Piloted Driving concept car leading up to the one-lap performance on Sunday, the perceived freshness of the technology could have left the window open to any varieties of snafus. On the other hand, a successful effort would prove to audiences in 2014 what endurance runs of early automobiles demonstrated in the early 20th century.

In position, the driverless car sat empty ahead of its cue to start its lap. One of two Audi RS7 Piloted Driving concept cars in existence, the car entrusted to take the 4.574-kilometer lap around the Hockenheim Grand Prix was named "Bobby" (the second car is recognized as A.J.). As a green flag flew, Bobby's Piloted Driving system was engaged launching the 560-horsepower RS7 Sportback. Under guidance of its GPS data transmitted over wireless communications and 3D cameras, the Audi RS7 Piloted Driving concept car navigated the race track. Lacking a driver, top speeds of 240 kilometers per hour (150 miles per hour) was estimated for over the course of the lap. Dealing with each of the 16 corners of the race course, Audi's Piloted Driving one-lap demonstration ended as a textbook success. In fact, the autonomously-driven vehicle appeared to handle Hockenheim with the ease that many humans enjoy a Sunday drive.

Audi had estimated the lap time of the RS7 Piloted Driving Concept at as little as 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Launching from a standing start, the single lap attempted by the Audi Piloted Driving system took roughly 2 and a half minutes around the Hockenheimring (according to my measurement of the web video). Average speed on the car's single lap is appraised at around 109.77 kilometers per hour (68.2 miles per hour). The time was a full minute slower than the DTM competitors in Saturday qualifying but those vehicles are race-purpose machines.

About the only hiccup related to the Piloted Driving exhibit was problems related to Audi's online live streaming. Whether it was a basic technical difficulties or perhaps the influx of viewers at the time of the demonstration, the virtual viewing world missed out on the live experience of the RS7 Piloted Driving lapping at the Hockenheimring. For those who missed it live(including myself) or just missed the demonstration, Audi has prepared the following video documenting the full event:


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Review

Photo Credit: Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. untitled A companion to the NTT IndyCar Series finale weekend on the streets of Long Beach, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship staged a 26-car race on Saturday consisting of DPi, GTLM and GTD class machines. With the conclusion of the 1-hour, 40-minute Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach sports car event, the overall winner was the #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac shared by the driving duo of Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani. The victory was a decisive weekend for the Whelen Engineering Racing team that had scored the pole position and went on to take the checkered flag with a 10.95-second gap over the #01 Cadillac fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing with Kevin Magnussen and Renger van der Zande. Corvette Racing enjoyed a dominant outing in the GTLM category. Nick Tandy and Tommy Milner in the #4 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R beat the #3 car shared by Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor. Only three GTLM class vehicles ran at Long Be

Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton Quickest In Qatar Qualifying

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. Saturday’s qualifying for the inaugural Formula 1 race in the Arab nation of Qatar has assembled what is certain to be a dramatic opening lap showdown between this season’s title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. In setting the grid for Sunday’s 57-lap main event on the fast, high grip 5.380-kilometer Losail International Circuit, it was the driver of the #44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team race car that took honours. Lewis Hamilton’s pole-winning lap time of 1-minute, 20.827 seconds in the final Q3 session putting a cap on a time trial where the seven-time World Drivers’ Champion handily controlled through the three sessions. Joining Hamilton on the front row of the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix will be Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing machine. The Honda-powered entrant was 0.455 seconds slower than the rival Mercedes race car. With the race at Losail being the third-to-last event on the 2021 Form

Ignition for the Integra: Acura's New 2023 Sport Compact

Photo Credit: American Honda Motor Co., Inc. untitled In August, Honda’s luxury car brand Acura shared an intriguing teaser image accompanied by the revelation that a classic sport compact name would return. Included in a rather familiar close-up promotional shot capturing a headlamp and part of the Diamond Pentagon grille, the key focus was a nameplate reading “Integra”. A rear image of a five-door hatchback shape dropped in late September while a picture of a six-speed manual shifter released in mid-October clearly as a means to tantalize a modern premium sport compact crowd. After a 20-year hiatus, the Integra is once again part of the Acura lineup. A five-door hatchback touting a coupe-like shape, the 2023 Acura Integra will give entry-level luxury car buyers a strong taste of performance attitude. As was the case with the previous Integra models, the Honda Civic platform serves as the basis for this latest premium compact. While the new Civic hatchback’s silhouette i