Audi's New Self-Driving A8: Exciting or Just Meh?

As an enthusiastic Audi A8 owner and driver I was excited to see the latest generation of the A8 introduced at the 2017 auto show in Frankfurt.

The items of greatest interest in a new model are typically design updates -both interior and exterior- as well as any power train improvements.

Image credit: Audi

This year however there's a major feature group that may be overshadowing both of the other categories refreshed for the 2019 model year: A driving automation system called Audi AI traffic jam pilot.

Audi has announced that 2019 Audi A8 is capable of Level 3 autonomy. It's the first car to be capable of this level of autonomous driving. Tesla's famous Autopilot only operates at Level 2 in the range of self-driving capabilities.

Image credit: Audi

What Is Level 3 Autonomy?

In 2016 the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) officially adopted the levels of autonomous operation specified in the rather exciting technical SAE International J3016 standards document.

The SAE levels are:

Human driver monitors the driving environment

• Level 1 - No Automation: It's all up to you. All “dynamic driving tasks” are your job at all times just like they were in your first car -I assume- and for your parents and their parents before them.

• Level 2 - Driver Assistance: If you've had the chance to drive a Tesla Model S (as an example) you may have experienced Level 2 autonomy. While in this mode you may be traveling down the road with your hands off the wheel and foot off the brake/accelerator however you must continue to monitor the environment and be prepared to resume all operating tasks.

Automated driving system monitors the driving environment

• Level 3 - Conditional Automation: This is the level newly achieved by the latest generation Audi A8. In this level the driving system “watches” the road and performs the dynamic driving tasks with the caveat that a you -the human- must be on hand and able to respond immediately to a request from the system for intervention.

• Level 4 - High Automation: This level is fully-autonomous and the driving system is able to do all the driving tasks with no intervention expected from you. You could be engrossed in a film, a conversation...sleeping...the system would not rely on you as a backup operator. Despite the full automation the vehicle would need to be in the environment it was designed for. No off-roading in Moab, Utah with your Level 4 vehicle intended for highways and city streets.

• Level 5 - Full Automation: This level is capable of driving a vehicle in any environment in which you as a human could drive a vehicle. Even extreme situations: think rugged off-roading or perhaps track racing.

Image credit: Audi

Are We Ready for Fully Autonomous Cars?

Despite it's advanced capabilities the Audi system only works

• On divided highways
• At speeds of up to ~37 MPH (60 KPH)
• In a traffic jam
• Outside of urban areas
• In a vehicle convoy (vehicles ahead and in adjacent lanes)

In other words Level 3 sounds exciting -if you like the idea of self-driving cars- but in practical demonstration seems a little disappointing if you envision yourself relaxing on a long highway trip or during a busy commute instead of keeping your eyes on the road.

You can see the Audi system demonstrated in the video below:

SlashGear also has an in-depth feature of the components that make the Audi AI traffic jam pilot possible which is interesting if you like the tech.

My own experiences with driver assistance features in a 2015 Audi A6 have left me with a skeptical outlook on partially autonomous vehicles. Lane keeping assist features that tug at the steering wheel and collision avoidance systems that misjudge your intentions on the autobahn are more disconcerting than helpful.

What Do You Think?

• Are you excited about self-driving cars?
• Have you experienced any Level 2 or Level 3 autonomous systems for yourself? Was it good or bad?
• How soon do you think we will see a fully self-driving car on the market?