It was supposed to be a controlled environment. Laps on Volkswagen’s high-speed oval in an autonomous Audi A7. But technology, as it often does, had other plans. A glitch in the adaptive cruise control system sidelined the car. Quick fixes, the kind involving powering down and restarting that we’re all too familiar with, proved useless. Defeated for the night, we headed towards the hotel. Then, the call came. The engineers had cracked the code. They were on their way to meet us.
That’s how I found myself, much sooner than anticipated, behind the wheel of a self-driving car. Except, it wasn’t a wheel on a track. It was on a public road, bustling with evening traffic, amongst everyday drivers in their everyday cars, and it was dark. The catch? Traffic signals. The Audi’s Highway Pilot system, designed for highway cruising, wasn’t programmed for stop lights. My initial plan was a hybrid approach: piloted mode for stretches of road, manual mode for intersections. But then, the engineer, Lipinski, suggested a bolder move. Let the car handle it all. It was programmed to maintain a safe following distance, to avoid collisions. Even Audi’s own team hadn’t tested this specific scenario. But Lipinski, confident in the technology, proposed I be the first.
At the next traffic light, doubt lingered. Then, the unexpected happened. Smoothly, confidently, the A7 braked, bringing us to a gentle stop a safe distance behind the car ahead. “We didn’t know it would do that!” Lipinski exclaimed, a mix of surprise and excitement in his voice. This moment underscored a crucial point about self-driving car technology: it’s remarkably advanced, yet still in its infancy. It functions impressively well, yes. But the full extent of its capabilities is still being discovered. And it might just surprise us, in positive and perhaps unforeseen ways.
The Gradual Embrace of Autonomous Driving: Safety, Comfort, and a Little Boredom
The initial apprehension of relinquishing control – a feeling that lasted all of four minutes – gave way to something unexpected: boredom. Once you accept you’re not driving, the most thrilling part becomes watching other people react to the car driving itself, like the little girl who stared in disbelief. Because, frankly, self-driving cars are designed to be boring. Piloted driving is about safety and comfort, not adrenaline rushes.
Every decision the car makes is rooted in two fundamental questions: Is it safe and legal? And does it enhance comfort? Fine-tuning the system to accurately assess and balance these priorities – to accelerate, decelerate, change lanes, and navigate turns seamlessly – has been central to the technology’s development. During my drive, the A7 effortlessly merged into a narrow opening in the right lane to accommodate a faster vehicle approaching from behind. The maneuver was fluid and natural. This level of decision-making and execution is sophisticated, yet requires further refinement before widespread commercial deployment. Audi’s engineers are still working to address every conceivable driving situation and to strike the right balance between maintaining a steady course and reacting to every minor detail detected by the sensors.
As initial excitement morphed into the monotony of a long highway drive, the appeal of Highway Pilot became clear. It suggests that Audi, and other automakers, are adopting a sensible strategy: introducing autonomous technology in incremental steps. The knowledge that I could instantly regain control, the familiar feel of the steering wheel and pedals, eased the transition to being a passenger in my own car. It’s essentially a more advanced iteration of adaptive cruise control, a feature many drivers already use. In this context, the A7 isn’t solely a self-driving car; it’s a luxury sedan that, with driver consent, can make driving safer, easier, and more relaxing. As Schlinkheider from Audi explained, “Our experience is that our customer wants to accept first and understand first what they are getting, and what the limitations are as well. Accept our function, and learn first how it works, and get used to it.” This gradual, user-centric approach seems key to the wider adoption of self-driving technology.
