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Audi’s traffic light countdown tech rolls out in DC

In the District, 600 traffic lights can communicate with some newer model Audis to show how long it will be until the light turns green.

Audi's Traffic Light Information display. (Courtesy photo)

Reading the road is often front and center when it comes to self-driving technology, but it will also be important for cars to look up at the lights.

That’s the idea behind a new partnership between the District Department of Transportation and Audi. The automaker has a platform on some 2017 and 2018 models that allows the cars to “talk” to infrastructure on the roads.

According to DDOT, D.C. is now joining a group of six other cities with traffic signals that support the Traffic Light Information technology. Since humans still have to drive, the tool provides a countdown that’s shown on the dash.

In all, D.C. has 600 signals that are equipped to tell drivers of these specific Audi models how long they have before a traffic light turns green. Cars receive information from the traffic signals through an onboard 4G LTE connection. At a red light, a display in view of the driver shows how long they’ll be waiting.

For Herndon, Va.–based Audi, it’s one application of a platform called vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) that could also help with navigation and self-driving functions.

While it’s available in this very limited capacity for these specific Audi models now, the District also sees potential to help the roads if the technology expands. Using data gathered, officials could target safety improvements, as well as change traffic light patterns to help improve the flow of traffic.

Traffic safety has been a notable area where the District has rolled out technology and data initiatives, under the banner of the VisionZero goal to end traffic fatalities by 2024. A separate partnership with Microsoft is also looking at traffic cameras footage to identify potential problem intersections.

Tech is only a part of that effort, however. On Thursday, Mayor Muriel Bowser also announced plans to improve 36 intersections with turn lanes that are particularly risky to pedestrians.

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