Audi's Herndon Headquarters Tests New Fleet of Robots

Technicians at Audi of America’s Herndon, VA headquarters will soon supervise mechanics at dealerships across the country via a fleet of rolling robots.

The Audi Robotic Telepresence (ART) robot, created by robotics firm Vgo, is a remote controlled robot that displays the operator’s face on the screen while a technician uses a computer or tablet to drive the robot around the service bay.

The robots will allow technicians to inspect and service vehicles as though they were standing alongside the local mechanics. An attached borescope and handheld camera will allow the technicians to inspect difficult-to-reach parts.

“ART was designed with both Audi technicians and consumers in mind,” said Brian Stockton, General Manager of Technical Support at Audi of America in a statement. “The device will give local service technicians valuable one-on-one interaction with their counterparts at Audi of America, which will not only benefit the speed and depth of service at the dealer level, but create an improved ownership experience for the customer in general.”

Audi is testing ART robots through a pilot program at 18 dealers and expects to roll them out to 100 of its dealerships across the nation. 

View Audi's demonstration of the new technology in the video above.