What's all this about?
Audi is taking part in the 'kooperative hochautomatisierte Fahren', or Ko-HAF.
Come on, my German is basic - what does that mean?
Co-operative Highly-Automated Driving.
Uh-oh, does this mean the self-driving car is nearer than we thought?
Oh yes. Ko-HAF, a project being run between several German car companies, suppliers and universities, is developing the necessary technology and infrastructure to allow cars to drive autonomously or semi-autonomously in everyday traffic conditions. And Audi, as one of the key players in this conglomerate, has announced that the next-generation A8 will have some of this robotic software on board.
Really? I thought the driverless car was years away?
Well, Google and Volvo have been working on such vehicles, but they're planned to be fully automated and so are some way from market. The new A8, however, will only be able to assume driving control when parking, or when driving along in sludgy, stop-go driving conditions on the motorway at speeds up to 37.3mph.
Ah, I see. But I seem to recall there was a driverless RS 7 of some sort?
Yes, Audi has been working on removing humans entirely from the driving process too. A piloted driving concept RS 7 Sportback, running at race pace, lapped Hockenheim in October 2014, before a development of that car completed a series of quick laps at the Sonoma Raceway, California, earlier this summer. Audi has also trialled driverless cars on public highways in the build up to the Consumer Electronics Shows held in the US and China this year.
Matt Robinson - 6 Aug 2015