Audi's Traffic Light Assistant Means You Hit Green Lights

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Whats more annoying than having to frequently stop at red lights.  So in a brilliant attempt to solve that issue, Audi has created a new in-dash system that tells you how fast or slow you need to drive in order to hit as many green lights as possible.

Demoed in and around Las Vegas at CES this week, the Smart City Traffic Light Assistance system relies on local data sources about traffic light patterns and timing (beamed to your vehicle over Wi-Fi) instead of a camera scanning the horizon for upcoming stop lights.

Using this data, and the speed and heading of your vehicle, the system provides a countdown timer of when the next traffic light will change to green, letting you adjust your speed accordingly so you hopefully don't have to come to a full stop. The system—which is currently being tested in Europe—can also automatically stop and start your vehicle when waiting at a light to conserve fuel or battery life.  Let's hope they find a way to prevent drivers from racing ahead just so they can avoid stopping at a red. [Audi via Autoblog]

New Bosch system shuts off coasting cars' engines

Bosch's new system is intended to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions

Cars don't need to have their engines running when they're stopped at red lights. That's why a number of automakers have developed start-stop systems, which stop a car's engine when the vehicle comes to a halt, and start it again as soon as the gas pedal is pressed. Bosch, however, is taking things farther. Its new start-stop system shuts the engine off not only at stops, but also whenever the car is coasting.

Putting it simply, the "start-stop system with coasting mode" turns off the engine whenever the vehicle can maintain its present speed by rolling. In other words, if the driver's foot isn't on the gas or brake pedals, the engine is off. A simple touch of either pedal causes the engine to instantly start back up.

According to Bosch, tests carried out by the company indicate that most vehicles could coast for about one third of every trip. If the engine was shut off for those periods, it would result in fuel savings of about 10 percent. Additionally, Bosch claims that if every new car sold in Germany were equipped with the system, "the theoretical annual reduction in CO2 would amount to over 30,000 metric tons" (33,069 tons).

What's more, with the engine off, the decreased mechanical resistance should allow cars to coast for longer distances than would otherwise be possible.

The system can reportedly be added to almost any type of existing combustion engine (including hybrids), and requires the installation of relatively few additional parts. It can even be added to cars with manual transmissions, if Bosch's eClutch is also used – this disengages the clutch whenever the vehicle is in coasting mode.

No word on availability or pricing although it is described as "affordable."

Source: Bosch