Audi has previewed advanced traffic light recognition technology which could make driving through towns and cities easier.

Audi Online traffic light information establishes an internet link between the car and the traffic light network via the central traffic computer in each town or city.

It quickly assimilates the automated traffic light change sequences in the vicinity, and on the approach to a set of lights, the Driver Information System (DIS) located in the central instrument cluster then shows the driver the speed to select in order to pass through the light during a green phase. It also displays a visual aid using red, amber or green icons. 

If the driver is already waiting at a red light, Audi connect will calculate and count down the time remaining until the next green light is scheduled to appear via a timer on the DIS. The system also interacts with the car's Start-Stop function to ensure the engine is switched on five seconds before the green phase.

Audi has calculated that Online traffic light interaction has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 15 per cent, and could save approximately 900 million litres of fuel if it were to be deployed throughout Germany.

The fully functional system is now production ready and could be fitted to every Audi model in the range subject to the necessary government legislation.

It was actively demonstrated recently on the busy Las Vegas freeways in an Audi A6 Saloon as part of a technology display at the Consumer Electronics Show, and comprehensive testing continues in Las Vegas with 50 sets of traffic lights.

Testing is also underway in the northern Italian city of Verona, where some 60 traffic lights covering almost the entire city centre are involved, and in Berlin, where 25 Audi customers are driving cars fitted with Online traffic information that can link up to a total of 1,000 traffic lights in the city.

A market launch is currently the subject of intense analysis in the United States.