Audi TTS To Climb Pikes Peak – Without A Driver
In a bid to convince drivers of the safety of vehicle electronics, Audi is planning to send a TTS up the legendary Pikes Peak hillclimb without a driver on board.
“Sometime soon — maybe even as soon as the fourth quarter of this year — an Audi TTS is going to make the climb up Pikes Peak in Colorado…. There will be no one in the driver’s seat,” Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen announced at the Automotive Press Association in Detroit this week.
Using special software developed in partnership with Stanford University and the Electronic Research Laboratory in Plao Alto, California, the TTS will navigate itself up Pikes Peak without any human control. A rash of quality problems related to vehicle electronics compelled Audi to host some form of public demonstration for their electronic systems.
“We’re not trying to eliminate the need for drivers or the pleasure of driving,” said de Nysschen. “But by demonstrating that we can do the unimaginable — and do it safely — we will prove that these technologies deserve our customers’ trust.”
[Source: Inside Line]
More by Derek Kreindler
Comments
Join the conversation