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Audi A8 - Amount of Data produced
Between its autonomous driving features and its in-car passenger-focused systems, the newest Audi A8 generates 50GB in an 8-hour driving period (6.25GB per hour). Read on for our deep dive into the A8's data-generating systems!
FINDINGS
The new Audi A8, "the first production car to reach Level 3 autonomy," generates "50 GB of data in an eight-hour shift," or 6.25 GB per hour. The A8 is equipped with 41 total autonomous driving assists, including a "next-generation" adaptive cruise control and central driver assist system that can maintain lane positioning, acceleration, and braking. The A8 also has lane departure warnings, a "TopView 3D" system that shows the car's entire surroundings during parking and slower driving, predictive assistance for efficient acceleration and coasting, intersection assistance, emergency warnings, and 360-degree hazard detection, all powered by Intel processors. Finally, the A8 has adaptive GPS that predicts common routes and smart steering and suspension adjustments.
The A8 also has a connected in-car infotainment system, "Audi Connect." Audi Connect for most models includes an LTE hotspot, parking, traffic, and gas price information in addition to media streaming and email and Twitter integration. The A8 adds speech and gesture controls and can "engage in intelligent conversation."
While we weren't able to find an A8-specific system-by-system breakdown, we did find a breakdown of the data generation of several common autonomous driver assist equipment. Camera systems in fully-autonomous vehicles can generate between 20 and 60 MB/second (72 GB to 216 GB per hour), while radar can generate 10 kB/second (36 MB/hour). Sonar systems can generate between 10 and 100 kB/second (36-360 MB/hour), while LIDAR can generate between 10 and 70 MB/second (36 to 252 GB per hour). With all of these sensors active, a fully-autonomous vehicle could generate 4 TB of data every day.
The A8's autonomous systems include four surround cameras in addition to sonar, laser, and ultrasonic sensors; while the above figures are for fully-autonomous vehicles with more sensor packages than the A8 has, it's likely that the camera and laser sensors still generate the most data of the A8's systems.
CONCLUSION
While we weren't able to find a specific system-by-system breakdown of the Audi A8's data generation, we did find a generic per-hour number and a general breakdown of the autonomous vehicle systems that generate the most data. Between its autonomous driving assists and in-car systems, the A8 generates 6.25 GB of data per hour of driving.