Audi TTS climbs a mountain, on its own

So we thought the machines and robots seen in the Hollywood movie iRobot were at least a hundred years away, we thought wrong. Recently in America an Autonomous Audi TTS completed a 12.42 miles section of the world famous Pikes Peaks Hill Climb.

The Autonomous Audi TTS research car achieved its initial goal of completing the 12.42-mile course of the world-famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race in Colorado without stopping and without a driver behind the wheel.

The Autonomous Audi TTS is jointly developed by Audi, Stanford University, the Volkswagen Group Electronics Research Lab in Palo Alto, Calif and Oracle. It was designed and built to conquer the challenging mountain route, which serves as the venue for the one of the world’s most thrilling rally races.

Organizers of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb certified that the Autonomous Audi TTS completed the twisting course on the last remaining dirt section, which offered the sternest test of autonomous high-speed handling, the car reached speeds of 45 mph.

It would be wonderful to have the Audi in Lancashire climbing some of the mountains the UK has to offer, that would really give Audi brand recognition for advanced technology and research here in the UK.  Many are predicting that in the very near future cars like the Autonomous TTS will be able to navigate through tougher routes at greater speeds.

This achievement is proof of Audi’s Vorsprung Durch Technik mantra, which means progress through technology. It is the German car company’s main strap line and ethos, by carrying out such research and experiments they are proving to their current and prospective customers that they are at the leading edge of motoring technology.