Audi 2009 Annual Report Download - page 146

143
Management Report
132 Audi Group
140 Business and
underlying situation
140 Economic environment
143 Research and development
146 Procurement
147 Production
149 Deliveries and distribution
153 Financial performance
indicators
157 Social and ecological aspects
168 Risks, opportunities
and outlook
177 Disclaimer
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The development of progressive technological concepts is closely linked to the Audi brand
through its declared mission statement of “Vorsprung durch Technik.” The Company therefore
brought a large number of innovations to production maturity in the past fiscal year, too.
During the year, an average total of 6,599 (6,556) people were employed in the Research and
Development area of the Audi Group. This total comprised 6,308 (6,293) at AUDI AG, 126 (116)
at AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft. (Győr, Hungary), and 165 (147) at Automobili Lamborghini
S.p.A. (Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy).
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENDITURE RECOGNIZED AS AN EXPENSE
EUR million 2009 2008
Research expense and non-capitalized development costs 1,569 1,631
Amortization and disposals of capitalized development costs 480 530
Total research and development expenditure recognized as an expense 2,050 2,161
Technical innovations
Car-2-X communication: award for “Travolution”
In August 2009, Ingolstadt was chosen as a “Selected Landmark of 2009” in the “Germany –
Land of Ideas” initiative of which German President Horst Köhler is patron (“Germany – Land of
Ideas,” August 27, 2009). The award-winner was the “Travolution” traffic research project in
which AUDI AG participated along with the City of Ingolstadt, the Chair of Transport Technology
at the Technical University of Munich and systems developer GEVAS software GmbH, Munich. The
project, which has already been completed, investigated how to adapt traffic signal controls to
momentary traffic levels on Ingolstadt’s roads, and set itself the goal of cutting waiting times
for vehicles so as to reduce fuel consumption and vehicle emissions. In the successor project
“Travolution extended,” the Company is currently focusing in particular on traffic signal/vehicle
communication as well as on rolling out traffic signal optimizations.
The active integration of road traffic is being investigated in other interlinked “Car-2-X commu-
nication” projects alongside “Travolution.” Car-2-X communication refers to the direct exchange
of information between a car and other vehicles on the one hand, and a car and its traffic infra-
structure on the other, with multiple benefits. An optimized traffic flow that is facilitated by the
exchange of data with traffic signals can help to save time and improve efficiency, as in “Travolu-
tion.” Furthermore, the signals emitted by one vehicle in a hazardous situation can alert cars
following behind, thus promoting safety. The system can also bring added convenience by dis-
playing vacant parking spaces in the vicinity, for example.
New Multi Media Interface (MMI) with touchpad
In order to give its customers maximum convenience and more safety, the Company has revised
its MMI navigation plus infotainment system and has now integrated navigation, telephone,
audio and vehicle data. The result is a concept that is impressive not just for its design and ergo-
nomic layout, but also demonstrably reduces quite significantly the extent to which the driver is
distracted from the traffic situation, thanks to the use of a touchpad with handwriting recogni-
tion. A destination or a phone number, for instance, can be written on the input field with the
index finger of the user’s right hand – and as well as the Latin alphabet the system recognizes
five other scripts, such as Chinese, Japanese and Cyrillic. Because users are able to draw intui-
tively with their finger and each input is acknowledged with an acoustic signal, the driver can
continue to watch the road while making the input. The new MMI touch is available for the first
time as an option for the new Audi A8.