On June 16, 2020, Audi opened new R&D office- Audi Automated Driving Development (A2D2) in San Jose. The R&D office is dedicated to creating Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for the North American market. A2D2 being located in the heart of Silicon Valley, will have ease to partner with nearby startups for production-intent applications.
The US is projected to be leader in ADAS system capabilities based on AI and its cloud supported development processes to more advanced Level 2+ automated systems for the next decade globally.
“With the rapid advancement of driver assistance technologies in North America, it is important to be part of the latest breakthroughs, working with leading edge of technology startups and attracting the top talent,” said Frank Grosshauser, senior director, ADAS, Audi of America. “We’re looking to bring on as many as 60 engineers for the development of new functionalities, catered specifically to the needs of the North American Audi customer.”
Though, Audi has its R&D offices in several locations across the US, A2D2 will be the first office committed to developing ADAS hardware & software for North American roads and driving behaviors.
To start, A2D2 has equipped a number of Audi Q7 development vehicles. These vehicles have roof-mounted sensor kits for collecting data and helping software engineers developing tools to enhance the driving experience in an Audi.
The testing vehicles fleet will be used for data acquisition for developing several cloud-based automated driver-assistance functions planned for introduction by 2023.
BRIEF ABOUT AUDI OF AMERICA
Audi of America, Inc. along with its US dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands, that delivered around 1.845 million vehicles in 2019 globally. In the US, it sold more than 224,000 vehicles and launched the first fully electric vehicle of the brand, the Audi e-tron.
