CES: Audi to roll out LTE cars with Nvidia Tegra 3 chips

LAS VEGAS: Audi has revealed that it will start shipping cars with LTE capabilities and that latest models, such as the A3, will feature in-car systems that are powered by Nvidia's Tegra 3 quad-core processor.

The German car maker touted its Audi Connect concept through which it aims to connect vehicles with the surrounding environment. Users will be able to connect any smartphone to cars, via it's Phone Box feature, for example.

Ricky Hudi, chief executive engineer at Audi explained that near-field communications will be used to help transmit the signal from the phone to an outside antenna. With LTE connectivity, users will be able access "content eleven times faster than present", he said.

Audi also unveiled a Multi-Media Interface (MMI) system, which will be powered by Nvidia's Tegra 3 quad-core processor.

"This system will be able to compute 3D graphics in real-time and present them on the display," he said.

"Audi is the only car manufacturer to offer integration of Google Earth and Google Street View online. Our system provides photo-realistic views down to 30 metres. It makes it much easier to navigate the car."

The manufacturer added that it was working on expanding its lane assist system and aims to offer "piloting driving".

When the car approaches congestion, it will detect this and offer the possibility to hand over control so users can use this time for a phone call, Hudi suggested.

The car will be fully aware of all surroundings and once the congestion is over the driver will be able to retain control. The system will be designed to be similar to how planes are operated, hence the "pilot" name as Audi doesn't want to create "impersonal body-moving machines", Hudi added.