Drones and cars

In 2019, Audi teased an autonomous concept car, AI:Trail, that used drones for headlights. These drones with integrated matrix LED elements would fly ahead of the vehicle to light the way, eliminating the need for headlights altogether. The concept was naturally brushed off as extravagant and impractical. But Jeep has figured out a comparatively reasonable and practical way to incorporate drones into its future technology lineup. It’s, well, not giving up headlamps.

Audi has used drones for headlights in a new electric vehicle concept car that was shown at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. The new EV is called the Audi AI:Trail and like most concept cars, will likely never enter production. The design team at the German car manufacturer took things one step further on this vehicle and included five rotorless, triangular, battery-powered drones with integrated matrix LED lights to light up the path in front of the car.

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