On Monday, automaker Audi announced that it is bringing vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technology to some of its 2017 vehicles. The technology will give Audi’s 2017 vehicles the ability to notify drivers of the time for which they will have to wait for traffic lights to turn from red to green.

According to Audi’s announcement, the imminent availability of the traffic light information system in some 2017 vehicles marks only the first step in the company’s integration of the V2I communication technology in its vehicles.

Audi said that it will make the traffic light information system available on select 2017 Audi Q7, A4 and A4 allroad models with Audi Connect. The automaker also revealed that the system has been successfully tested in Palo Alto, California, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.

With regard to the forthcoming launch of the traffic light information system in its 2017 vehicles this fall, Audi said that the system will initially be introduced in only a few cities. However, the automaker did not specify the cities in which the system will initially be available.

Meanwhile, about the possible future uses of the V2I communication technology in Audi vehicles, Pom Malhotra -- general manager of Connected Vehicles for Audi -- said in a statement that the automaker could integrate the technology into “vehicle navigation, start / stop functionality” and also “to help improve traffic flow in municipalities; thereby ensuring “better overall efficiency and shorter commuting times.”