Meet Jack, Audi’s considerate autonomous driver

Autonomous cars are a heartless pile of wires and sensors, right? Not so if said autonomous car is the next generation Audi A8 which has been programmed to be considerate towards other road users.

The software is currently being trialled around Germany in the current A7 before being integrated into a more resolved version designed specifically for the A8.

Jack is Audi’s term for the firm’s flesh and blood replacement and uses additional sensors to monitor what’s happening around the vehicle and calculate manoeuvres further in advance.

What does that actually mean out on the road? An example of Jack’s intelligence is how it gives trucks a wider birth than passenger cars. Jack will execute lane changes with a more natural movement too, activating the indicator and then moving slowly towards the lane marking.

Audi has put together a video demonstrating Jack’s thoughtfulness which let’s be honest we could all benefit from. The video shows that autonomous driving is possible for periods of up to a minute before the driver has to retake control.