Audi Unveils Self-Driven A8, Will Big Carmakers Overtake Tesla's Autopilot?

Audi unveiled a self-driven A8 in Barcelona Tuesday. The 2019 model comes with level 3 autonomy and does not have a price tag yet.

The sedan comes with a hybrid engine and a new infotainment system. But in terms of self-driving technology, Audi has engineered the system to best suit its premium buyers. Audi's autonomous driving system comes with a feature called the AI Traffic Jam Pilot, which will help navigate the car during traffic jams by moving autonomously, without any driver input to move out of the gridlock.

Read: Tesla Autopilot vs. Nissan ProPilot: Self-Driving Technologies Compared

Think about a human driver stuck in a jam — all his/her instincts might not be up to the mark in navigating through the jam. An AI based autonomous system might be better suited for the navigation, since it might plan a proper route using information from navigation-based apps such as Google Maps. The car will take care of acceleration, steering, braking and dead stops.

Unlike other systems such as Nissan’s ProPilot, Audi’s autonomous driving system will be capable of letting the driver permanently take his/her hands off the steering wheel and do other things like watching the onboard TV. The only thing it prohibits though is for the human driver to completely take his/her focus completely off the car, since it can ask the human driver to take over anytime it senses itself incapable of navigating a situation.

The new Audi A8 will also have an object detection system, which will scan the road ahead 18 times a second, and coordinate with the car’s electronic chassis to work out how the suspension will handle the situation.

Besides Audi and Nissan, many big carmakers including GM, Toyota and Ford are working on their own technology for self-driven cars. However, Tesla still retains the first mover advantage when it comes to autonomous driving. Its system includes obstacle detection, a fully activated auto steering and speed limits.

The system is capable of changing lanes, matching traffic speeds, exiting freeways, braking in emergencies and self-parking in a parking spot.

Tesla also does not permit the driver to fully check out from driving though.

Read: First Tesla Model 3 Sedan Coming This Week, But If You Book Now, Delivery Only In Mid-2018

While Tesla has received more than 300,000 reservations for the upcoming Model 3 sedan and has sold a good number of Model X and Model S, it numbers are nowhere near the leading automakers such as GM and Ford in terms of total sales. Furthermore, while it is currently ahead, Tesla doesn’t have the capital that these companies have, neither does it have their capability of running tests across the globe. Tesla will have to continuously keep on advancing its offerings, if it wants to maintain its lead in self-driving technology.