Audi's Autonomous A8

With driverless technology developing fast, Damien Reid trials Audi’s most advanced autonomous vehicle to date.

- Damien Reid

TO THE AUTHORITIES around the world who have demanded autonomous cars from the auto industry: the ball is in your court.

Audi claims its new A8 is the first production car developed for conditionally automated driving, which is level three of the five steps the industry is taking towards driverless cars. Unfortunately, however, you won’t be able to use it anytime soon.

Audi has delivered with features like traffic jam pilot and garage pilot that are standard on the new A8, and while the technology is installed and ready to use, government legislators around the world are still deciding on how best to implement it on public roads.

Level three is the point at which the manufacturer takes over liability from the driver for the car’s actions, heralding a minefield of legalities yet to be signed off by regulators.

Garage pilot allows the driver to park the car via their smartphone. It reads the surroundings so it can motor itself in and out of tight spaces without needing a driver. Traffic jam pilot takes control in slowmoving traffic on motorways by managing the acceleration, steering and braking.