Audi TTS Shelley Video

Audi TTS Shelley Video Transcript

[ Music ] ^M00:00:00:07

>> Hello, I'm Wayne Cunningham with CNET Car Tech. I'm riding in an Audi TDS that's actually driving itself. We have a safety driver from Stanford in the driver's seat just in case something goes very wrong, but so far nothing has. This car has been developed by Stanford and ERL, the Electronics Research Lab for Volkswagen, to test safety systems for possibly next generation cars that can better handle dangerous situations -- kind of -- this is sort of the next-gen vehicle stability system, dynamic control, traction control, but in this case the car is doing it all itself. The Stanford Group has put a blanket -- a computer in the back. It's actually not that powerful of a computer, but it's running software that allows it to control the car in fairly high-speed situations. We're maneuvering around this loop at from 40 to 20 miles an hour. This is actually a dirt track, so the software has to compensate for sliding in the turns, which it's doing a fair amount of. But I'm watching the steering wheel shuffle and adjust and counter steer the handle through the slippery conditions. When it gets to each straightaway it accelerates by itself, it builds up some speed. As soon as it gets to the next turn, it realizes it needs to slow down. So it hits the brake, starts its turning, gets some nice rotation going, and handles the exit of the turn, trying to maintain a specific path of consent for it. Now of course, it'll deviate from that path by up to a meter, they told me, and correct for itself and trying to get back on course. So far it's been doing a great job. I'm Wayne Cunningham for CNET Car Tech. ^M00:02:00 [ Music ]