Audi has been awarded “Most Innovative Automaker” and “Most Innovative Infotainment System” by the Edmunds CES Tech Driven Awards at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
A first from Edmunds and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the producer of CES, the awards were created in response to today’s rapid pace of technological innovation and development of consumer electronics. The awards recognize innovative thinking and technologies in the automotive industry.
“With a clearly defined commitment to full autonomy, Audi is a natural choice for the 2018 Edmunds CES Tech Driven Most Innovative Automaker of the Year honors,” said Alistair Weaver, Edmunds’ vice president of editorial and editor-in-chief. “In addition to its leadership position on future mobility, Audi also does an outstanding job at bringing advanced technologies into the cabin, with its MMI system being our top choice for Most Innovative Infotainment System of the Year. Both awards celebrate Audi’s forward-thinking vision and innovative culture.”
“Most Innovative Automaker”
Edmunds editors praised Audi for “pulling ahead of the pack with its strong history of innovation” including developments in automation seen in the all-new 2019 A8, the first production automobile developed specifically for SAE Level 3 automated driving. In A8 models equipped with Audi AI traffic jam pilot, and in markets where regulations permit, the vehicle can take charge of driving in slow-moving traffic at up to 60 km/h (37 mph) on freeways and highways where a physical barrier separates traffic.
Delivering advanced driver assistance and convenience systems, the 2019 A8 also debuts an intelligent approach to parking assistance with the Audi AI park pilot and the Audi AI garage pilot, which accelerate and brake the vehicle on behalf of the driver into and out of parallel or perpendicular parking spaces.
“Most Innovative Infotainment System”
Citing its “ease of use, robustness of features and distinctly contemporary luxury experience,” Edmunds editors awarded the Audi virtual cockpit and MMI® system for the vivid graphics and the overall user experience.
The MMI® system is designed to provide drivers an intuitive interface for managing navigation, entertainment, in-car experience and ride dynamics (on models equipped with Audi drive select).
Additional features include Audi smartphone interface, which allows compatible Android and IOS device content to be seen on the MMI display with a USB connection, supported by Apple CarPlay™ and Google™ Android Auto. Also, with the newly available Amazon Music integration, drivers can now access Amazon Music through their vehicle’s MMI® system via the MMI connect® mobile application.
The innovative Audi virtual cockpit transforms the way drivers interact with the vehicle through an entirely digital dashboard that renders 3D graphics with brilliant clarity. A quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor that delivers vibrant color at 60 frames per second helps enhance the infotainment viewing and navigating experience through large Google Earth™ images (requires Audi connect PRIME) supported with 4G LTE (where available).
The awards, judged by a panel of Edmunds editors, included the following criteria: testing experience, first-to-market technologies, feasibility and potential impact on the industry, usability and practicality of the technology and the overall ingenuity.
To be eligible for the 2018 Edmunds CES Tech Driven Awards, vehicles and systems must be available in 2018 and developed and brought to market by automakers represented at CES 2018.
For more information, please visit www.audiusa.com.
