Audi cars to start talking to traffic lights

While you driving, your Audi might be chatting away to the traffic management system of your city…

Talking of cool developments with cars, as we were, this is such a good idea:

If you’ve ever been stuck at a red light that seems to last an eternity, you’ll be happy to know that Audi announced that it’s going to start work with municipalities to tell its cars when a light is about to turn green. The automaker says this is the first step in a Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) partnership with cities that will be launching this fall.

Basically, the car is using its built in LTE connection to talk to the city’s central traffic control system – in participating cities, at least. For now, just a cool touch – “hey, that light’s about to change” – but the long-term implications of a system like this have so much potential. Two-way communication between the cars and the traffic flow system will allow smarter, more dynamic traffic control – and will be vital to a self-driving car stem, which would be able to tell a light’s status without having to sense it.

Connected urban infrastructure is definitely a cool idea – as long as it stays secure.