New Audi Vehicles Will Notify Waiting Drivers Of Green Lights

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Drivers of upcoming Audi vehicles could soon know how long they will be waiting for a red light to turn green.

According to Automotive News, select 2017 Q7 SUVs along with A4 sedans built after June will be equipped with so-called "vehicle-to-infrastructure" or "V-to-I" technology.

V-to-I allows traffic signals and other infrastructure to exchange safety and operational data to vehicles wirelessly.

"This is designed not as a safety feature but a comfort and convenience feature," Pom Malhotra, general manager of the automaker's connected vehicles division told the publication.

According to a video posted by the automaker, Audi is partnering with cities to receive data from traffic lights, which will be sent to equipped vehicles. A display will show drivers in those vehicles how long they will wait at a red light.

In the future, Audi executives said V-to-I technology could be used for a host of new features. With the technology, traffic light information could tell drivers to go at a certain speed to match the flow of the lights. The technology could eventually be linked to a car's navigation system or stop start functions.

Audi said the feature could be available to drivers in several cities later this year, but the automaker did not specify which cities will have the feature first.