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With intelligent driver assistance systems, lighting technology from the full-size class, and a striking design, the Q3 brings premium standards to the road. A journey through the breathtaking beauty of Scotland reveals just how much character it truly holds. Scotland, Glasgow. Where the River Kelvin flows into the mighty Clyde, stands the Riverside Museum – an architectural masterpiece that combines movement and history. This is the spot where our road trip begins with a special companion: the new Audi Q3. Its design? Expressive, dynamic, and emotional, with an exciting interplay of sweeping curves and precise lines. From the Riverside Museum, we start our drive into the Scottish Highlands. But first we have to navigate the quirks of a big city that has not always adapted to the demands of modern traffic. In the process, we get to know the new Audi Q3 in all its facets – and how it can support us while driving. Digital companion for every day We get settled into the sporty, elegant seats and immerse ourselves in Glasgow’s urban flair. After just a few minutes, it becomes clear that the new Audi Q3 is much more than a means of transportation – it is a digital companion for everyday life. During a stop in the historic city center, whose roots date back to the 6th century, the park assist plus shows what it can do. It maneuvers the vehicle into even the tightest of spaces with impressive precision. Supported by several ultrasonic sensors and high-resolution cameras, the system recognizes its surroundings in real time and provides clear visual and acoustic feedback – a real advantage when parking in the narrow streets of Scotland’s largest city. Back on the road, the traffic sign recognition system helps the driver keep an overview of things. For example, speed limits and construction zones are reliably detected and projected directly onto the head-up display – this is particularly helpful for those unfamiliar with the area while driving in dense city traffic.

Headlight digitization is blazing new trails in safety, design, and communication Three new functions in Digital Matrix LED headlights that enhance safety and improve the customer experience Digitizing light technology opens up new possibilities and individualization Audi TechFocus Newsletter #03 Safety and customer satisfaction come first at Audi. They are part and parcel of the success of the company with the four rings. In that context, light technology is steadily growing more important and creating a wider range of possibilities and perspectives, from added safety for the driver, to external communication and individualization. Systematic light digitization is making all of this possible. It is particularly visible in the new Audi A8: the forward-looking Digital Matrix LED headlights and digital OLED rear lights raise the customer experience to a whole new level: for the first time in any Audi model, light is completely digitized. The car can be individualized even further through its digital OLED rear lights. The Digital Matrix LED headlights also include three new functions: advanced traffic information, a lane light with direction indicator lights on highways, and an orientation light on country roads. These features not only demonstrate Audi’s “Vorsprung durch Technik,” they also add value. “Lighting technology and lighting design have been success factors for our brand for decades, becoming a key area for Audi. This has allowed us to continue setting new benchmarks in the automotive industry,” explains Oliver Hoffmann, board member for Technical Development. “The digitization of lighting enables us to offer completely new functions that we can use to increase safety again significantly. For example, in combining the digital OLED taillights with proximity indication, we can communicate with the outside world depending on the situation.

Digitization of light opens up multi-faceted communication channels Audi lighting technology combines exceptional design with high functionality Close teamwork between Lighting Technology and Light Design as a success formula Audi is advancing into new dimensions in automotive lighting technology. Originally, vehicle lighting mainly served the purpose of ensuring traffic safety for all road users. Previously unknown prospects are now opening up in the wake of digitizing headlights and rear lights: light becomes a medium of external communication and interaction, personalizes design, and provides customers with new styling and customization options. Lighting has made a veritable technology leap: The evolution from halogen light to xenon headlights to LED technology in automobiles took less than two decades. These milestones of new technologies provided customers with noticeably added value. As well as continually enhancing visibility, Audi lighting has been defining the face of the brand’s models in every era while extending everyday usability by an equally communicative and aesthetic dimension. In the wake of the transformation of lamps, both illumination and energy efficiency improved. Now, digitization provides another innovation boost with all-new design potential: Light is becoming smart. By means of light signals, the car interacts with its surroundings. As far back as in 2003, the then A8 offered adaptive light with automatic-dynamic headlight range control before a camera on the windshield began detecting other road users in 2010. Two years later, the brand underpinned its innovative prowess and pioneering role in the R8: The introduction of the dynamic turn signal that allows indicated directional changes to be perceived out of the corner of one’s eye marked a significant gain in safety – and still does.

With the second generation of digital OLED rear lights, the Audi A6 e-tron is taking light design, range of functions, and road safety to a new level. With these innovations, the A6 e-tron is the leader in its class in the field of advanced lighting technology. The active digital light signature, a world first introduced with the Audi Q6 e-tron, makes a new and vibrant impression, pointing the way to the future of lighting technology at Audi. The second generation of digital OLED technology shapes the appearance of the new Audi A6 e-tron and significantly increases its range of functions. This technology significantly improves road safety, as impressively demonstrated by the communication light in the digital OLED rear lights. Audi is also underscoring its leading role in personalization: With eight digital light signatures in the redesigned digital daytime running lights in the Matrix LED headlights and in the digital OLED rear lights 2.0, drivers can customize the appearance of their A6 e-tron to suit their personal taste. These customizations are easy to make via the MMI or the myAudi app. Active digital light signature: harmony in motion Headlights and rear lights that appear alive at first glance: This is how customers can think of the active digital light signature. “We’ve given the light signatures their own personality and the digital world its own aesthetics at the same time,” explains César Muntada, Head of Lighting Design. The second-generation digital OLED rear lights have ten 450-segment OLED panels that use a specially developed algorithm to generate a new image several times a second. This allows the active digital light signature to demonstrate the car’s vibrancy and ability to interact by making the “brain waves” of the A6 e-tron visible through constant movement. A software module on one of the domain computers of the Audi A6 e-tron makes this type of light signature possible.

With the new A5 models, Audi is underlining its leading role in lighting design and technology in its class. The new active digital light signature was introduced with the Audi Q6 e-tron and is now available for the Audi A5 family. It gives onlookers a new impression of vibrancy and points the way to the future of Audi lighting technology. The optional digital OLED technology extends the range of functions many times over. This significantly contributes to road safety, as demonstrated by the communication light in the digital OLED combination rear lights. The second-generation digital OLED combination rear lights take the new A5 family to the next level in terms of lighting design, functionality, and road safety. The Audi A5 also sets new standards in terms of personalization. With eight selectable digital light signatures included with the optional Matrix LED headlights and the top-of-the-range digital OLED rear lights 2.0, customers can design the appearance of their A5 according to their preferences. This customization can be easily done via the Audi MMI touch display and demonstrated via the myAudi app. "Audi recognized the potential for using OLED technology in rear lights at an early stage and is the only car manufacturer to have consistently developed and digitalized this lighting technology," says Stephan Berlitz, Head of Lighting Development. "Digital OLEDs are more efficient, lighter, and more homogeneous than conventional lighting systems," he continues, giving a glimpse into the future: "Due to their strong contrast, they will gradually become exterior displays and thus an essential enabler for communication with the surroundings.

Advanced lighting technology makes a significant contribution to greater road safety and is an essential part of Audi DNA. The new A6 Avant also plays a pioneering role in its class in this area. The design of the headlights and rear lights is all about digitalization, which gives drivers the opportunity to customize the appearance of their A6 Avant according to their own preferences. At the same time, the digital lighting display provides innovative functions that improve communication with other road users. All the while, the lighting technology reflects typical Audi aesthetics. Optional equipment for the A6 Avant includes digital LED daytime running lights made up of 48 individual LED segments per headlight. The optional Matrix LED headlights are characterized by a hexagon-perforated stainless-steel screen that conceals the digital daytime running lights. This new design gives the headlights an even more striking appearance. With a total of seven digital light signatures at the front and rear – several of which are designed as active signatures in which individual segments intelligently brighten up and dim down – the new A6 Avant offers considerable potential for personalization. The second-generation digital OLED rear lights are optionally available at the rear of the A6 Avant and combine lighting design and innovative technology in a unique way. Thanks to the total of eight digital OLED panels, they create a strong recognition value and at the same time increase safety on the road. Each side features 198 OLED segments that create the digital signatures, some of which are active. The active signatures make the lights appear alive through their constant movement. The algorithm specially developed for this function creates a new image from the 396 OLED segments several times per second. The individual segments interact in such a way that the overall light intensity does not vary.

World premiere: The active digital light signature sets headlights and rear lights in motion in an unprecedented way For the first time, customers can select digital light signatures for the headlights and rear lights via the MMI and the myAudi app Package with digital light signatures available on demand This innovation will permanently change automotive light design and car-to-X communication: With second-generation digital OLED rear lights, the Audi Q6 e-tron is taking light design, range of functions, and road safety to a new level. Audi is gradually developing the technology into intelligent displays that can communicate with other road users by displaying information via the exterior lights – this is the new communication light. The active digital light signature is another world first making its debut in the Audi Q6 e-tron. It makes an entirely new and vibrant impression, pointing the way to the future of Audi lighting technology. For the first time, customers can optionally select digital light signatures for this new evolution of digital daytime running lights in the Matrix LED headlights and the new generation of digital OLED rear lights. In addition, customers may book digital light signatures on demand. The Q6 e-tron not only marks a new chapter in electromobility at Audi; lighting technology is an important part of Audi’s DNA. With the world’s first active digital light signature, the Audi Q6 e-tron ushers in a new era characterized by distinctive design and aesthetics unique to Audi. The second-generation of digital OLED technology shapes the look of new Audi models and increases their range of functions many times over. This, in turn, improves road safety, as impressively demonstrated by the communication light in the digital OLED rear lights.

More powerful: new design with clear SUV characteristics and prestige factor More dynamic: active roll stabilization, air suspension and all-wheel steering More cutting edge: touch operating concept, HD Matrix laser light and 48-volt mild hybridThe Audi Q7 is getting an all-round update – both visually and technically. The large SUV features the new design of the Q family and offers superb dynamics and excellent comfort, in addition to its superior spaciousness. HD Matrix LED headlights including laser light, the mild hybrid technology and the digital operating concept are just some of its highlights. The new Audi Q7 will be launched in Europe in mid September. Prices in Germany start at 66,900 euros. Robust look: the exterior design The Audi Q7 demonstrates the hallmark SUV elements of the current design language. It bears the large octagon-shaped Singleframe, with six upright slats providing the structure. As such, the SUV looks even more powerful. The two-part side air inlets have a much more expressive line, just like the sill area that underscores the large SUV’s ground clearance and, in turn, its offroad capabilities. The headlights, optionally in HD Matrix LED technology with Audi laser light, emphasize with their contour and light signature the width of the full-size model. On the restyled rear, a striking chrome strip creates the visual connection between the flat rear lights with their technical-looking graphics and carries forward the horizontal body line. The designers achieved the clear view with taut, flat surfaces, which span the entire width particularly in the license plate region.